


The Winner's Trials

by milena_writesalot



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Eventual Smut, Inspired by The Hunger Games, M/M, Survival, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-09-07 18:02:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16858762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milena_writesalot/pseuds/milena_writesalot
Summary: Everyone took a test when they were eighteen. Those who scored more than eighty percent could compete in the Winner's Trails, and if they won them, they could go live in the Paradise, the best place on earth.Everyone got the chance to take the test, except Dean. He joined the rebellion before his test could happen.Now, four years after Dean started to conspire against the Trials, his brother Sam has entered them.The rebellion is planning to send him to the Trials undercover, and Dean is planning to go to protect Sam.The only thing is, the Trials are bradcasted to the entire country. Is more than just being good at fighting, is also about putting on a show.And Dean will put on a hell of a show after he runs into Castiel Novak, the only person who has ever scored 99% on the test.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> As you probably read in the tags, this story is inspired by the Hunger Games, mainly in the idea of a competition to death that is also a reality show, but that's about it.  
> I'm not a native english speaker, so if there are any mistakes that you could point out to me, I'd be very thankful.  
> This is one of my first fanfics... I'm nervous hahaha 
> 
> I really hope your enjoy the story! 
> 
> -Milena

People usually waited at the bottom of the buildings for their result. They all gathered at the park in the center of the city, it was a tradition; all the teenagers, no matter what their background was, and their families waited for their tests results together.

Hope filled all of their eyes, even if some tried to look self-assured.

Every year it was the same thing, all the teenagers that were on their senior year at high school waited there, standing, with their families beside them supporting them, as they waited for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Dean wished he could be there.

No one looked up, everyone too nervous and expectant so as to pay attention to anything other than the speakers that so far had remained silent, but on top of one the highest buildings in town, Dean Winchester sat with his legs hanging down.

He was waiting for the results too. Not his results, of course, he was too old for that.

He was waiting for Sammy’s results. He wished he could be down there with him, sharing that moment like he should be.

He even tried to spot him in the crowd, but the thing about being in a high-enough building not to be seen was that he couldn’t actually see anyone either.

When he looked at the crowd below him, he couldn’t help but wondering what would it be like to be down there, both as a brother and as a candidate.

But it was useless, he couldn’t be neither of those things. 

A loud _beep_ noise came from the speakers that were spread around the town and the whole city seemed to go deadly silent. If someone had sneezed in the crowd all those floors down, Dean was pretty sure he could have heard it.

After the noise stopped, a voice was heard.

_‘The following announcement has been approved by the U.S Government’_

Dean tightened his grip on the rooftop border.

_‘This is a message from the Paradise Department, we are honoured to announce the confirmation of this year’s Winner’s Trials, design by the team of Infinity and approved by this Department and your Government. We are now to announce the results of the 49th annual tests. Remember, scores of eighty percent and above will be allowed to enter the Trials, scores below eighty percent will not be allowed a direct entry. We know a winner is among us’_

“We know a winner is among us” Dean echoed. It was a good luck thing, he wasn’t a great believer, but he had to try.

There were a few seconds of silence after the message ended. The nervousness could practically be smelled.

Then the list started.

_‘Candidate one. Elderson, Amy. Forty-six percent. Candidate two. Rogers, Carl. Thirty-two percent. Candidate three. Masters, Meg. Eighty-one percent’_

The first one that passed.

Dean dried his sweaty palms on his jeans as he waited, he didn’t know Sam’s candidate number, so he had to pay attention to every name.

_‘Candidate seven. Rosen, Becky. twenty percent.’_

And the list went on and on.

A painful forty candidates later, only two people had passed, none with more than eighty-five percent yet, and Dean was struggling to keep himself calm.

_‘Candidate forty-eight. Winchester, Sam’_

Dean almost jumped when he heard it.

The pause that had seemed so small between the other candidates name and their score felt like ages to him now, until the voice said:

_‘Eighty-three percent’_

Eighty-three.

Sammy had got an eighty-three.

Sammy had passed.

He had-

Dean closed his eyes, and threw his head back.

He did it, his little brother did it.

_Thank you, god. Thank you so much._

His brother had a chance! Sammy had a chance to go to the Paradise!

He got up from the floor, a smile on his face.

He knew Sammy could do it.

He started to walk towards the door, to go inside the building and call Benny, but then he heard:

_‘-iel. Ninety-nine percent’_

He stopped.

A gasp was heard from the crowd.

Dean frowned, maybe he heard wrong?

Ninety-ni… No, it was impossible, no one ever got a higher score than ninety-five.

His phone vibrated on his hand.

“Benny?” He said answering it.

“Your brother got in”

“Yeah, yeah he did”

“You remember the deal then?” Dean knew Benny wasn’t threatening him, but they all had put their hopes in Dean for the last months, and he had to take responsibility for that.

“I know. Sammy got into the trials, and so do I. But Benny, your heard that ninety-something score?”

“Ninety-nine brother, yeah, it’s real. Actually, we don’t really know what your score is, but I’d bet you’re pretty close to that”

Dean swallowed. Getting into the Trials was the easy part, surviving them was the part that worried him.

“And I thought you were going to be the biggest surprise this year… These are going to be some very interesting Trials”

With that, Benny hung up.

And so Dean knew, that was when the game began. He was going to compete to win for his team, and also to keep Sam safe. He was going to have to work. Hard.


	2. Four Years Ago

Infinity was the leader company by far when it came to videogames. They had created the most realistic simulators of all times. The best technology though, wasn’t inside one of their games. 

No, the best of the best, was split between two places.

One was Paradise, an island that had the greatest advances of humanity: medicine, entertainment, everything was top of the line there. No one knew where it was, only Infinity was in touch with them. No one could move in there freely, there was only one way to win the possibility to live there.

That was the other place where Infinity putted all their great advances, the Winner’s Trials. You win them, you and your family go to Paradise.

Everyone whose score was higher than eighty percent on the test could compete, rich or poor. Didn’t matter.

Inside the Trials, the best technology was used to create dangerous, extreme worlds. Even if they were simulations, they felt real. Or so it was said. 

Pain, hunger, cold, heat, all was felt by the competitors. Death was real too. If you died inside the Trials, you were gone from the real world too.

But Paradise was worth dying for.

For Dean, it had been his only chance. If he wanted to change his miserable lifestyle and save his family, he had to score more than eighty percent, because the real world didn’t offered opportunities to people like him, the real world didn’t care about the poor, those who lived in the ghettos were just useless dirt for the big cities of America.

Infinity offered those a chance, even if it took their lives, it was worth the try.

Dean couldn’t take that opportunity. 

He started preparing for the test when he was fourteen, he trained, he was fast and smart, and every year he got stronger. No one really knew what they were looking for in the tests, each year they were different, and almost no one could tell if they had done a good job on them.

Living in the ghettos felt like a constant test, however. Food, warmth, fights, all of that was a part of Dean’s life, all those things so many take for granted, Dean had to fight for them, for his family.

By the time he was eighteen, he was more than ready for the test.

Then Sammy fell sick.

At first he decided to keep training, enter the Trials and win, so he could take Sam to Paradise where they would cure him.

But the fifteen-year-old was getting worse real fast. Dean didn’t quite understand it, there was something wrong with his lungs, but no one in the ghetto had the medicine to cure him. Dean couldn’t afford it either.

All those skills he had gained couldn’t help him now. 

He knew the people of the ghettos had faith on him, it was said that he would enter the Trials and win them. But Dean didn’t have faith in Sam, he could see the young boy suffering in front of his eyes.

It was a couple of weeks before the test that Dean realized Sammy was dying, like  _ really _ dying. He probably didn’t have more than a month.

That’s when Benny reached on to him.

Benny said he could get him medicine, if he joined the rebellion. 

And that meant not taking his test. Not entering the Trials, but working against Infinity, and the only thing he had ever had hopes for: Paradise.

Sam wouldn’t have survived until Dean finished the Trials. And no one assured him  he would win.

It wasn’t a choice for him, it was something that  _ had _ to be done.

He saved Sammy’s life.

He stayed long enough to see the young boy recover a little. His brother didn’t ask about the medicine, he was young, he looked up to his older brother, and assumed he had stolen them just like everything else they had.

Dean wasn’t _that_ good of a thief. Yes, he was great at stealing. Yes, the mothers of the ghettos joked about him being Robin Hood when he brought them food.

But no one could have stolen the type of medicine Sam needed.

Bobby knew that. 

“What was the cost?” he had asked after Sam fell sleep the first night that they saw he was recovering. He was sleeping peacefully for the first time in weeks. Dean hadn’t been sure the medicine was real until that night.

“Dean, what did you gave for it?” Bobby insisted.

Dean kissed Sammy’s forehead.

And then he hugged Bobby.

“I have to go” he whispered.

Bobby grabbed his arm, and Dean took a deep breath.

“Me. The price was me” he said, and quickly added “I can’t tell you more than that”

He left. Bobby called his name a couple of times. 

He didn’t cry. No. But he knew that he would never be returning to his home again.

Dean met with Benny after that.

The rebellion was not unheard of in the ghettos, but people there had bigger problems than the Trial’s. What is more, no one in the ghettos ever questioned the Trials.

It was an honour to go, and it was an honour to die there.

Yes, they all cried when they saw someone they knew die on TV, but Dean usually found himself questioning if it was because of the actual death or because they were so close to Paradise… and they lost.

The rebellion was way bigger than he had imagined, they were all over the city. So many people had reasons to believe the Trials were wrong, Dean had never asked himself if it was right or not, he had always seen it as his only chance.

Dean was assigned to a group, he was the only one who came from the ghettos, and at the age of eighteen, the youngest.

He quickly felt like he had found a new family, not a replacement, of course, he cried many nights for his actual family, Sam and Bobby and everyone he knew from the ghettos. But the people of the rebellion cared for him.

“Why me?” he asked a couple of days after moving in. Everyone in his group seemed to give something for the cause, and Dean just sat there… 

Benny was looking at some papers, he was a couple of years older than him, and treated him like a young brother.

“You mean why I offered you joining us?”

“Yeah. Everyone here is good at something, you are like… the leader or something, Charlie is awesome with computers, and Donna keeps us hidden. I’m not good at any of those, all I can do well is…”

“What? Say it”

“Steal. I’m a thief, that’s it”

Benny smiled.

“A thief. A great thief. I’m not gonna lie to you, Dean, I didn’t offered you our deal for the goodness of my heart, I’m happy that your brother is better now, but I offered you joining the rebellion because we need you”

“Need me?”

“What do you think makes you a good thief?”

“Uh…” Dean wasn’t sure how to answer. He didn’t understand what Benny wanted to prove with this “I’m fast?”

“Yeah, what else?”

“I’m strong… I can come close to people without they noticing”

“You’re smart too. Others would be dead or in prison by now, but not you. You know what to do and when to do it, you have the necessary skills to survive. That’s why everyone in the ghettos said you would win the Trials.”

Dean felt embarrassment at being complimented like that. He had heard that before, but hearing it from Benny was different, the rebellion had no reason to have  _ hope _ on him, they weren’t desperate like Bobby and him, if they said Dean was good, it was real.

“You want me to steal something?” he asked.

“No. We want to train you. Here, sit down” Dean sat next to Benny on the table, and Benny started looking through his papers. “I’ve made some research on you and your brother. He’s a smart kid, right? Gets good grades at school”

“Yeah, Bobby insisted on us going to highschool instead of dropping out, Sam’s the smart one”

“Do you think he would pass the test?”

Dean blinked. He trusted Benny, even if he had just met him, Benny made sure he had everything he needed, he made sure Dean was never hungry again, he kept Dean updated on Sam’s state because now that he was a rebell it was too risky to go see him. And even knowing something weird was going on, he decided to trust Benny.

“I think… yes, yes he’s the smartest kid I know, he would pass.”

“I think so too. But you know the Trials are dangerous, many people die there with the hopes of getting a better life, that’s why we exist, we don’t think that’s okay, don’t we Dean?”

He knew what Benny was doing. Dean hadn’t joined the rebellion because he wanted too, he had to prove he was loyal to the cause.

He nodded.

“Good. I’ve seen smart kids, like Sam, go to the trials and die. Now, to stop that we need to work from the inside. Not just the Trials, we need to get to Paradise”

“I don’t understand” he said frowning “What does this have to do with Sam and me?”

“Well, the thing is, I believe Sam is going to compete in the Trials, just like you said, but I also believe he won’t make it through. Deep inside you know there’s a chance that he won’t make it”

Dean didn’t want to say it, but he knew. He wanted to think his brother was unstoppable, but… nobody was.

“Now, what if I told you I believe you could make it.”

Dean opened his eyes widely at Benny.

“But I can’t. I can’t take the test now… and I-I-”

Benny put one of his papers in front of Dean. it had a word printed on it:  _ Estellar. _

“That’s the name of the company Charlie and Donna have been working on, with many other people. It’s a video game company, and, as you know, it’s a tradition for game companies to sponsor someone to go into the Trials”

Before Dean could put two and two together, Benny continued:

“I’m going to offer you another deal. We’re going to train you, and to the eyes of the world you’ll be Dean Winchester, a boy from the ghettos who won a contest to become a employee in Estellar. Then when the time comes, if your brother gets more than eighty percent on his test, you’re going to enter the Trials as a sponsored competitor. As you know, that means there’s no age restriction, no test to take, nothing, as long as we pay for you to be there. You are going to try to win the Trials, as the same time that you help your brother to do the same”

Dean looked at the printed name for a couple of seconds, silent.

“Little Sammy would have you there to protect him, and we would help you to make it to the end however we can. Just remember, you are competing for us. You need to get as far as you can”.

Dean nodded.

“Do we have a deal then?” Benny said.

He looked away from the paper, to Benny’s eyes.

“Yes. We have a deal”.


	3. The Headquarters

A couple of days after the results of the tests were announced, the inscriptions began.

Benny went to the Paradise Department to enroll Dean as a sponsored competitor, Benny had helped train him, although there wasn’t much learning involved, he already had the basic skills, he just learnt to use them to survive in the wild, over and over again. They used simulations of course, like the ones Infinity used for their games.

It only made sense that Benny was his coach during the Trials.

Everyone had a coach, some had actual teachers who knew about survival and other useful skills, other brought their mother or their brother. They were there to help you during the trials, but they couldn’t reveal too much about the outside world, only a little bit.

Dean wondered who was Sam’s coach. Maybe Bobby, or Ellen, she had helped them a lot since their parents died.

When Benny came back, he smiles at Dean.

“One last training session?” he said, and Dean nodded.

He was nervous. He would be on national tv, talking about himself, hoping he could make people like him…

“Okay, let’s sit down” Benny said noticing Dean’s neves “Why don’t we better go over the details for tomorrow?”

“I know about tomorrow” 

“I know you know, but it’s important. Very important. It’s the first time people will get to see you, we need to sell you to them.”

Dean nodded, taking a seat on the couch, next to his best friend.

“So, what’s our story for tomorrow?”

“I grew up in the ghettos, my parents died in a house fire, then a friend of my father took me and my brother in and took care of us. When I was eighteen I got in trouble with a couple of guys in the ghettos, they threatened to kill me and my family, and attacked us a couple of times, and so I had to leave, I couldn’t come back to keep Sammy safe. Then Estellar was born, and they launched a contest to see who would be their next employee. I had nothing to lose so I decided to take part, I came up with the idea of a game where you need to survive in a abandoned island inspired by  my life in the ghetto and won. I’ve been working there ever since. I knew this was the year where Sam would take his test, and I knew he would pass because he is the smartest child I’ve ever seen, so I begged my boss to sponsor me, and once he saw I had the skill, he agreed.”

Benny smiled.

“Good! Dean, you’ve done your homework”.

“Did you send Sammy my letter?” Dean asked in eager.

Benny nodded.

“I made sure he got it”.

Dean had explained Sam everything in that letter, at least everything he was allowed to. And remarked how very  _ very _ important it was for him not to say anything. He just had to roll with the game.

He also apologised about being gone like two-hundred times.

He just hoped Sammy would get that he did it just to save his life, he would never have left him otherwise.

“Dean, you do know that you won’t be allowed to see your brother until the trials begin right?”

“Yeah, I know, I just… I hope he can forgive me for being gone”

Benny touched his arm in a loving gesture.

“Everything is going to be fine. Now go to sleep, you have a long day tomorrow”.

Dean took a deep breath and got up from the couch.

Tomorrow was his first interview. Tomorrow everything started.

_ We have a good story. _

He told himself, the best about the story, it’s that the most emotional parts about him having to leave against his will and losing his parents, they were all true. 

Benny had really good material he could work with. And as he had told Dean weeks before:

“I can sell the Winchester brothers, you have a heartbreaking story that the people will love. You’ll be this years favorite”

He wasn’t that sure about that last part. 

He had tried not to think about it a lot, but he didn’t actually knew what his score would have been if he had taken the test. Maybe he was lower than eighty.

And then was that ninety-nine percent boy…   
  
  


 

They had to get going really early in the morning. The rumors of a sponsored competitor had already spread and the rebellion decided that the safest would be for Dean to be away from the paparazzi for as long as possible, so, they weren’t flying to the capitol like everyone else, they were driving. It was a couple of hours away.

Dean tried to get some rest on the car but as the sun rose his mind filled with all his fears and worries and sleep was impossible to fall into.

He would be the oldest there. It was weird, after years of being one of the youngest in the rebellion… and to think that he will have to fight those kids…

Sammy was seventeen, he would be one of the youngest. Most of them would be eighteen, some almost nineteen. Dean was twenty-one.

He tried to relax. He didn’t have to kill anyone. The other would do that for him. 

His focus was on surviving and protecting Sam.

First, he would have to find Sam, of course.

When the Trials started, everyone would be forming a big circle, they would start running, there were supplies in the middle, but it was risky to go for them… However, during the first couple of minutes of the trials, everyone would be transported to a different part of the world that the Trials were taking place into.

Dean had seen it on the previous Trials, someone could be running on a forest and the next second their feet would be sinking in the sand, they had been transported to a desert. 

Sometimes when two people were chasing each other they would be transported to the same place, and they just kept running.

The thing was, Dean had no idea where would he be in relation to Sam, he could be in the same place, or days apart.

Benny would try to help him with that.

Their first goal was to find Sam, then try to stay until the end.

Dean had no plans of killing anyone unless it was extremely necessary, but he knew that not everyone could make it. 

It was very rare that they would allow more than one winner. There were only two ways of being considered worthy of winning, being the last one standing, or facing the hardest trials that they sent you.

Most people went for the first option.

Which is why it was going to be slaughter.

Dean was happy Sam got an eighty-three, higher numbers were easy targets, cause they had more chances of resisting the trials.

He closed his eyes again and tried to at least get some more rest.

  
  
  


They made it to the headquarters with no problems. Charlie was waiting for them there, with a bunch of photographers and reporters that they ignored.

Charlie was working with Infinity undercover, it had been really hard to get her there since Infinity was very strict with who joined their team. But Charlie was really the best at what she did, she was there to help fix any technical problems that arose. 

It must be hard for her, Dean thought, to have to work helping what she hated so much. But the rebellion needed someone in that didn’t appear to be related to Dean, just in case.

It was the biggest building Dean had ever seen.

“Wow” he said when they got into the lobby. It was all marmol and fancy furniture and… minimalistic. Modern. Expensive.

“I know” Charlie said with a smile. She was supposed to act as Dean’s guide “Rooms are arranged but percentage, but since you are sponsored you’ll get the first room” she explained as she walked to the elevator. She was dressed very elegantly, it was weird to see her like that, but at least it reminded Dean that this wasn’t his Charlie, this was his guide.

“Do you uh… know something on Sam? Winchester” he asked on the elevator, Benny stayed in the lobby, arranging some stuff about Dean’s interview.

There were cameras everywhere, that’s what Dean was told, from now on, he had to be acting the entire time. No more Dean Winchester from the rebellion.

“Your brother?” she said with a smile “We know all the details, Dean, even before your interview happens”

Dean smiled at her.

“But yes” she continued “I know he has already arrived safe and sound”

The doors of the elevator opened with a bell sound and Charlie held a card against the door in front of them to open it.

“You’ll be given your key today on your interview, but this is your room”

Dean looked around as soon as he walked in. It was the most luxurious place he had ever been.

There were enormous windows, beautiful lights that hung from the ceiling, everything looked so expensive.

“God” he whispered. Charlie smiled at him.

“As I said, I know.”

He laughed a little bit, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. And it was his… for a couple of days at least.

“Well, your coach will be here in just a minute, he will know where you need to go there”

Dean nodded and Charlie left, leaving the door open for when Benny came back.

Dean run his hand over the glass table in the middle of the living room. There were marble stairs behind it, his bedroom was probably upstairs.

A bell sound and Dean tuner with a huge smile on his face.

“Benny!” he said when the man appeared on the door “Look at this place! Look at it!”

Benny laughed looking around.

“It surely is pretty, huh?”

“Pretty? This is the most luxurious shit I’ve ever seen! Can you believe this?!”

Benny smiled at him.

“Yeah but I’m sorry friend, we need to get you ready for your interview”

“But I thought that was at night, we just had lunch”

“Yeah, and we’re already late to get your ready come on”   
  
  


 

Dean was taken to a room were he was told to undress and put on a robe. 

Benny was waiting for him outside.

Then a couple of assistants came dressed in all white and said they were going to bathe him. That was the first time Dean looked at Benny in panic.

Benny just laughed as they took him.

He was naked. On a tub. As some girl cleaned his nails and another one washed his hair. It was the weirdest experience of his life.

Then he was given some time to dry himself before they took him to the hairdresser. A man who didn’t talk to him, just told him where to sit and looked at him annoyingly as he decided what to do with his hair.

He ended up with a “messy” hairstyle, which, in his opinion, looked just like how his hair was before.

Then he was taken to make-up. That’s when Dean looked at Benny in panic again. 

He looked at all the fluffy brushed and the weird stuff that some woman was putting on his face. He coughed a couple of times.

Dean felt he was strapped to that chair forever. Until they finally sent him to his stylist. 

Benny wasn’t allowed in, so Dean imaged there would be some unwanted nudity involved.

When he got in, there was a woman with short black hair waiting for him. She was wearing a black shirt and black jeans with high heels. 

“Hello, Dean” She said with a smile “I’m Jody, I’ll be your stylist these Trials”

Dean shook her hand and nodded.

He sat on one of the two chairs in the room, Jody taking the other.

“You know why I’m here?” she said.

“To make me look like a princess for tonight?” he asked and she laughed.

“Yes, Dean, but more importantly, I’m here because I asked to be your stylist”

Dean frowned “What? why?”

“Because I heard your story, with your brother, and I know you come from the ghettos and had a rough life” Dean just looked at her, he didn’t want anyone’s pity “Let me tell you a secret. I don’t think these Trials are for anyone else but you. The others have a chance in the real world, they can get a nice job and all of that. But you, you are the luckiest person I know just for getting your job with Estellar. Your brother doesn’t have a chance if it’s not Paradise”

Dean nodded. It was true, she got it. Paradise was their only hope.

“What you are doing for your brother is really brave, and I want to help you. So, what do you say if we give an outfit that no one will be able to forget?”

“I think that would be great”

Jody smiled.   
  
  
  


“Your parents died in a fire” Benny said crossing his arms.

“That’s the thing, we need to show them that he’s not weak, and that he tragic past only makes him stronger” Jody answered.

“No” Benny said “No, i don’t like this whole shirt on fire thing. Dean doesn’t look weak, this thing with the fire is sick, even twisted.”

“Dean has one huge weakness you are trying to ignore. They all know his brother is here. If Dean ends up being a good competitor they will use Sam to manipulate him. Causing a big impression will make Dean the favorite, that means if someone who is not very likable wants to hurt him, they’ll think it twice, they could win half the country’s hate for doing so”

Benny rolled his eyes.

“Dean, are you okay with this?” 

Dean took a deep breath “Yeah, I mean, it can show them that I embrace my… tragic past?”

Benny didn’t look pleased, but anyway he nodded.

“It will surely cause an impression”.   
  


 

Dean looked at himself in the mirror again. He was dressed in all black, he had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, and Jody told him he could keep them that way.

Jody was right, he needed to be unforgettable. Being a sponsored competitor, he would be the first interviewed, all the rest would come after him, and he was in risk of falling into oblivion if someone had a nice story like him.

Sam wasn’t among the highest scores either, so he wouldn’t be the last.

But if that shirt thing went fine, he had a chance of eclipsing all the competitors that followed him, and bring more attention to Sam, for being his brother.

He was on the backstage, waiting to be called. He was the only one waiting there, with Benny and Jody making him company. Only a couple of stairs separeted him from the cheering crowd he could here. 

It sounded like there was many people there.

He was so nervous.

_ Deep breaths, Dean, deep breaths. You know your lines. _

Then he heard the music start. He had heard that same song year after year on TV.

The host had arrived to the stage. And crowd was crazy.

Dean waited as the host, Crowley, finished saying hi and presenting this year’s Trials.

“We have all heard about him, haven’t we darlings?” he screamed to the crowd, who answered with screams “Now, it’s time to put an end to all the gossip and hear the real thing from the boy’s mouth! Welcome, our first sponsored in years, Dean Winchester!”

With that, Dean gave a final look to Benny and Jody, and swallowing deep he started climbing up the stairs.


	4. The Interview

The lights blinded him for a moment. He stopped at the top of the stairs, blinking a couple of times.

“There he is!” Crowley screamed.

Dean tried to look forward at him, but his head was spinning with the light and he couldn’t see a thing.

The crowd cheered anyway, a loud loud loud noise.

Dean tried to look at them but he was so disoriented, the gave a couple of baby steps, still blinking.

“I guess someone is not used to the lights of the big city” He heard Crowley joke as he got up from his chair and walked towards Dean.

He grabbed Dean’s arm and walked him to his seat. Once there, he was able to look at the crowd.

So many people were in front of him… rows and rows of fancy looking people watching him. Him. A stupid boy from the ghettos.

He felt like a monkey on a suit.

Were they laughing at him?

Probably.

He was nothing to them.

_ Don’t hate them. Change them, make them like you, _ he had to remind himself.

“Dean?” Crowley said, sitting in front of him.

“Yes?”

Everyone laughed.

Dean blinked.

“Good to see you are with us again” Crowley joked again “I take it you’re not used to this”

“No… none of this actually, I-I’m not from here”.

“I heard you are from Kansas, from the… ghettos?”

Dean nodded “Yes, I was born there”

“Right, well, there are so many things we want to know about you, right folks?!” The crowd screamed.

Crowley laughed.

Dean shifted on his seat.

“We haven’t had a sponsored participant in years, what made you want to volunteer for the Trials?”

It was true, even though it was a tradition for companies to sponsor someone, not many volunteers had come up in the last few years, mostly because they never made it far, mostly because they couldn’t make it to the trials by themselves for having a low score on the test.

“I uh…” he forgot what he was supposed to say.

Everything he had practiced. He forgot it.

“My-my little brother is here” he answered.

“Sam Winchester, right?”

“Yeah- Yes.” he wanted to get out of there, but he took a deep breath and kept going “I didn’t took my test, ‘cause I had to leave my home when I was eighteen”

“Yes, I know you and your brother had been apart for a couple of years, you said you had to leave?”

Dean nodded “We come from the ghettos, and uh… not everyone is nice there. And I… uh… I got into some trouble with some guys, they threatened to hurt me, and Sam too, so I had to leave him. To keep him safe… I uh… couldn’t come back”.

Crowley took a deep breath “Well, isn’t that sad?”

People on the public nodded.

“Now Dean, people in your… neighbourhood used to say you would win the Trials, right?” Dean nodded “Why is that?”

“I… I am good at… surviving, I guess?” Crowley nodded for him to keep going “I’ve had people who helped me when I was little, but, with Sam being so young, I was mostly on my own. So I learnt to… well, survive on my own”

Crowley got a little closer to him “Dean, I know this is a very touchy subject, but, your brother? He really is very important to you, right? After all, you are risking your life to come compete with him, and you haven’t seen him years”

Dean looked down. Dean was going to lie, well, not lie, but he wasn’t going to tell the entire truth. He was there for the rebellion, in part.

He hoped Sam listened to his words anyway, because he wouldn’t have accepted if it wasn’t for him.

“Sam is… he’s the only blood family I have left. We only have each other, it has always been that way. I couldn’t… I couldn’t just leave him, he’s my little brother. And I’m so sorry for having left him… I-I had no choice” his voice left him. The crowd let out an  _ aww _ . He swallowed “I want to give him Paradise, I want to protect him like I should have all these years, he deserves it”.

He looked at the crowd, just because.

And there, in the front rows, was Bobby. Looking at him in fascination, like he couldn’t believe he was there on stage.

Dean felt like he had seen Bobby for the last time yesterday.

He had to wake up, he had to keep going. 

“I want to protect him, like my parents protect me” he said.

Crowley frowned “Your parents? Haven’t they passed away?”

Dean nodded “A fire killed them, but… I know they are still with me. I know they look after me like I look after Sam”

Another  _ aww _ came from the public.

“I think I understand what you mean” Crowley said.

“Do you want me to show you?” Dean offered quickly.

Crowley smiled with confusion “Show me? Are they here with you?”

Dean got up from his seat. He heard Crowley gasp as he took his shirt out of his trousers. Whispering was heard from the public.

“Dean?” Crowley asked.

Dean didn’t answer.

He looked down at Bobby and started spinning. Turning over and over again on his feet.

The bottom of his shirt started to glow red, and when he looked down at it, the fabric was burning.

The entire crowd gasped, some even screamed. But he just kept spinning.

The fire rose up his chest, but it didn’t burn. It wasn’t real fire of course, it just looked real enough.

When he stopped spinning the fire stopped too.

He looked at the crowd, who looked at him amazed, before they started clapping.

Clapping and cheering. And screaming. And then shouting his name.

Crowley came by his side. He was dizzy, but he managed to stay still.

He smiled shyly at the crowd, who was still clapping.

Crowley took his hand and raised it.

“Ladies and gentleman, Dean Winchester!”

The screams got louder.   
  
  
  


Benny hugged him when he came down the stage.

Jody clapped him.

People were still screaming his name.

It was crazy.

“You did great, Dean! Great!” Benny said.

“I told you the flames would drive them crazy” Jody said smiling at him.

Dean laughed. He felt so relieved.

It was a good start.

He begged to stay until Sam’s interview. But he wasn’t allowed, he had to go to his room again.

Benny and him sat on the couch to watch the rest of the interviews. The other competitors didn’t look as nervous as Dean had been, but of course, they didn’t came from the same place. The people didn’t clap them as they had clapped Dean, Benny commented that a couple of times.

“ _ Welcome Dean’s little brother, Sam Winchester!” _

The crowd exploded.

Dean turned up the volume of the TV.

And then Sammy walked into stage.

He was wearing all white, the opposite of Dean. 

He was so… tall. He looked nothing like Dean remembered, he wasn’t a baby like Dean thought him to be. 

“ _ Sam! We have been waiting for your turn to come, haven’t we?” _

Sam looked down. He was nervous too, he just managed to keep it together better than Dean.

“ _ The younger Winchester… your brother made quite a show when he was here earlier, did you see it?”  _ Sam nodded “ _ What did you thought of it? _ ”

“ _ I uh… I… think he did a good job” _

Dean felt his heart stop. Was Sam mad? He couldn’t tell.

_ “A good job? Sorry Sam, that’s not what I heard backstage”  _ Crowley said before looking at the crowd _ “I heard you tried to climb to the stage to see your brother and had to be stopped”. _

The public cheered.

_ “I uh… I wanted to see Dean, in person… I miss him” _

Dean smiled at his brother, the crowd let out a  _ aww. _

_ “It seems like he misses you too”  _ Crowley said.

The interview kept going, they talked mostly about Sam’s score and the abilities he had gained on the ghettos.

People seemed to like him, that was good.

“ _ Dean saved me from the fire were our parents died, even though he was just a little kid”  _ Sam explained when he was asked about the fire thing  _ “I hope I can return the favor in the Trials” _

The crowd loved that. They loved the unconditional love between two brothers with a tragic story.

_ “Everyone, Sam Winchester!”  _ Crowley screamed before Sam went down the stairs. He was clapped, more than other competitors.

Benny laughed “Your brother is really smart” he said “It was a good idea finishing talking about you. When they think about you they’ll remember your brother, and when they think about him they’ll remember you”.

Dean relaxed on the couch, Sam had done a great job.

“I told you he was a good kid”.

The interviews went on, Dean fell asleep after a couple more.

When he woke up Benny was snorting by his side, his head hung from the edge of the couch.

“ _ Our last interview of the night! _ ” He heard Crowley say, he kept screaming like nothing, like he couldn’t get tired of being so energetic all the time.

_ “You’ve heard about him, and you want to know him! And so do we! Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the highest score that has ever been made! Welcome, Castiel Novak!” _

Dean shifted on his seat. He had almost forgotten about the ninety-nine percent boy. Castiel Novak.

The first thing that appeared on screen was a blue shirt. The boy moved shyly towards his seat, many people were clapping him, he looked… confused.

Then the camera caught his face.

Pale skin, dark hair.

Blue eyes.

He was beautiful.

And he looked beautifully lost.

_ “Castiel! We have been waiting for you!” _

Castiel didn’t answer.

_ “You are the third participant from the ghettos in Kansas”  _ Castiel nodded.

From the…? No.

No. He would know him if he was.

No.

Sam and him were supposed to be the only ones from there.

Castiel was very shy. Very quiet. 

Dean kept watching the interview, but he didn’t talk a lot. He was coachless, which shocked everyone. He said he had no family alive, and he wasn’t very good at making friends.

Most of the people seemed to be lost in his beauty. Dean was too. He looked like this soft… innocent boy, who had nothing left.

People liked that.

And, he had the highest score ever got in a test.

Castiel Novak was going to be dangerous. He could feel it.


	5. Simulations

It took Dean a good fifteen minutes to figure out how the shower worked that morning.

He remembered the first shower he took in the rebellion’s building. There was warm water. He had never showered with warm water before. He stayed under the water for an hour.

He could only imagine Sammy’s reaction to this fancy shower.

He dried himself and went back to his room. It was the fanciest bedroom he had ever seen, a huge bed was in the middle of it, the wardrobe’s doors took an entire wall. On the other wall, a enormous window that showed the entire city. He was in one of the first rooms, but still it was a good amount of floors up the ground.

Benny told him not to take any clothes with him, everything would be provided by Infinity. 

It was a dream come true.

Dean couldn’t say that outloud though, he was a “rebel”. At least not until he was being broadcasted to the entire country, then he had to be Infinity’s little bitch.

He went through all the expensive looking clothes he now had, but ended up choosing the simplest of them all, to him they seemed fancy nonetheless.

As soon as he started going down-stairs he heard Benny’s voice “There he is! Dean Winchester, the Son of the Flames!”

“Excuse me?” he said with a smile.

“You’re all they are talking about, sweety!” Jody said from the couch “After your performance from yesterday that’s what they are calling you,  _ Son of the Flames _ ”.

Dean laughed “Wow. So what, am I the favorite now?”

“It seems” Benny said “That ninety-nine percent boy is close though”.

“Castiel” Dean said.

“Exactly. He didn’t have that great of an interview, but you know, highest score is not easy to forget”

Dean nodded “What about Sam? How’s he doing?”

“He’s fine. Not among the top popular ones, but still in the top ten. There are thirty-two contestants these year, he’s doing pretty good.”

“Yeah” Dean said with a smile.

There wasn’t much to do that day. He went over the plan over and over again with Benny until the late afternoon.

He asked if he could go see Sam, though he knew it was forbidden for competitors to talk before de Trials.

He wasn’t allowed to.

He tried asking Benny about what would happen if he won.

“You know I can’t tell you”.

“But you do know, right? Am I supposed to do something in Paradise?”

Benny shook his head and looked down “Dean, you’re my brother, you know that, but I can’t tell you anything. You just need to go and try to win the thing”.

He gave up asking.

The next day was “training”. Basically every contestant would go through a simulation with obstacles as they were recorded. Dean had to goals for his simulation, first, impress the audience, show them he was skilled. Second, frighten the other contestants, let them know that if he had taken the test, his score would have been as high as theirs, or higher.

It was going to be rough day.   
  
  
  
  


He waited to be called with Benny by his side. He had no clue to what the simulation may be. He was nervous.

People were going to judge him on his performance.

“ _ Dean Winchester, please step on the yellow line” _ A voice came from the speaker in the room.

There was a big door in front of him, on the floor, a yellow line that read “ _ PUT YOUR GOGGLES ON”. _

Dean felt like he was naked. He was wearing a skin-tight grey suit, it was one of Infinity’s latest suits, Dean had never wore something so… sophisticated. It was soft, and light, and it didn’t feel like clothes.

He looked back at Benny, and his friend nodded before he put his goggles.

The doors opened before him, and Dean stepped in without really knowing where he was. The goggles didn’t felt like, well, goggles. They weren’t heavy, he could barely tell they were there, except because he saw all pure white.

He heard the doors closing behind him.

Then a number appeared in front of him.

_ 5 _

Dean frowned.

_ 4 _

_ Oh, it’s a countdown,  _ he thought.

_ 3 _

_ 2 _

He took a deep breath.

_ 1 _

A beep sound came from… everywhere.

And then he wasn’t surrounded by white anymore.

He was in a… forest?

There was grass on the floor. And Dean would have swore it was real if it wasn’t because his feet could feel the hardness of the actual floor beneath them.

A blue sky raised upon him.

He looked around, he was surrounded by trees, tall trees. Except in front of him, he gave a couple of steps forward. He seemed to be at the top of a cliff.

Yep, that was definitely a big fall ahead of him.

He raised his arm in front of him, it looked real. Like he was actually looking at his arm, and not a screen.

It was by far the best simulation he had ever seen.

He gave a few steps backwards, trying to put some distance between himself and the end of the cliff, and then something hitted his foot. He looked down, there was a knife on the grass. A machete.

He grabbed it slowly, and it felt like he was really touching it.

_ Damn, this is a good suit. _

Then a noise came.

Like a footstep.

Dean turned with the machete on his hand, and saw a dark silhouette running towards him from the woods.

He expected the silhouette to become clear as it approached him, but it didn’t it was just a black shadow with the shape of a man.

It tried to kick Dean, but he saw it coming and jumped back, as soon as the thing was on the floor, he stabbed it with the machete, and it disappeared.

He looked up. More of those were coming after him. Many more.

He wouldn’t be able to fight everyone of them at once.

He looked behind him quickly, more trees. 

The woods were safer than the clear he was in. The trees would work as obstacles for the things.

He ran to the woods as quickly as he could, in between the trees.

The things followed him closely, he felt one grabbed his shoulder, and he turned as fast as he could and stabbed it.

He shoved another one against a tree.

He could see others coming, but having to run in between the trunks was slowing them down.

He fought another one. And another one.

But they quickly became too many again. They were grabbing him, pulling him down, as he tried to get rid of them.

He had to make more time. Slow them down.

He started running.

If there was one thing he had learnt while being chased in the streets after being chased for stealing something, was to make himself disappear.

He was way faster than those creatures. He knew they were chasing him, but with all trees, the path he created was impossible to follow. 

He ran in a circle.

But the creatures didn’t notice that, they were merely trying to catch him, and they were far behind him.

Being a thief had also taught him to be silent.

The things were too dumb to notice he had made a circle, and he started attacking them from behind.

One by one.

By the time they realised he was there, there weren’t many left. He was strong too, they couldn’t take him down.

After stabbing one of them on the head he turned to attack the next, but there was nothing.

He had killed them all.

His vision went black, and he remembered he had the goggles on.

When he took them out, he was in a small, empty room. There was no knife on his hand.

He blinked a couple of times.

He had run a lot… inside of that room?

_ “Dean Winchester, you have completed the simulation successfully” _

The doors behind him opened. Benny was looking at him with a huge smile.   
  
  
  
  


They were on the couch in his room again, with Jody, watching TV as the other competitors went through the simulation.

Most of them stayed in the clear. Trying to fight all of the creatures.

“You’re one smart son of a bitch” Jody commented as another participant got held into the ground helplessly.

After each simulation a list with the names of the competitors appeared, the number of creatures they managed to take down next to the time they had lasted.

Except for Dean, next to his name it just said  _ COMPLETED. _

He was the only one so far.

Sammy has lasted quite long. Almost managed to do it, but by the time he realised they were too many for him and started run, it was too late. They pushed him to the ground and held him there.

Dean had no idea how they managed to record the simulations, but it was… so realistic.

The last one was, of course, Castiel Novak.

Dean had actually been waiting for it.

He had been the only one to complete the simulation, but he had a feeling Castiel was going to change that. He wanted to see how.

When he appeared on screen Dean couldn’t help but thinking about how pretty he was.

No one from the ghettos looked so… perfect.

_ Perhaps that’s why he was hidden _ , Dean joked to himself. He still couldn’t believe that boy was from his same town. The same ghettos. And he had never seen him.

At first Castiel looked around, just like Dean had done, just that he looked more concentrated, or maybe he was just confused about the simulation being so real.

He noticed the machete shortly after, but didn’t grab it.

When he heard the first footsteps, and spoted the creature, Dean was expecting to see him reaching for the knife desperately.

But he didn’t.

When he saw more creatures followed that first one, he started running. 

Dean leaned towards the screen.

_ What the hell are you doing? _

Castiel started climbing a tree near the cliff. He was very quick at climbing it, but the creatures were still chasing him.

When the first creature started climbing, Castiel had put some distance between them already, but he had no escape, had he?

“He is insane” Jody said.

_ No. You’re doing something, aren’t you? _

Castiel move faster than Dean had expected. He waited at the top of the tree as the creature climbed after him.

There were more and more of them every second. They were probably twenty, or thirty, and counting.

The scene looked suicidal.

Castiel started walking on top of a branch, and Dean couldn’t help but picturing him falling.

Even if he didn’t fall, it was just a matter of time until they reached him.

And then a weird sound came. Castiel noticed it, he looked down.

He had almost reached the end of the branch, and the first creature was getting there.

A louder noise came, and just as the tree started to move, Castiel jumped as far as Dean had ever seen anyone jump.

The tree started leaning with a strong breaking sound. Castiel had jumped to the tree next to it, and was hanging from one of its branches, grabbing it with his hands.

He watched as the tree fell down the cliff.

“What the…?” Benny said.

“It was rotten” Dean said quickly “The trunk was rotten. All the creatures were too much weight for it”

“But… how did he noticed it so quickly? How did he jumped like that?” Jody said.

Dean didn’t have an answer for that.

He had gotten a ninety-nine percent after all.

The simulation ended as Castiel tried to pull himself up the branch.

When the list of names appeared again, Castiel’s name was at the bottom of the list, next to the same  _ COMPLETED _ Dean had next to his own name.


	6. The voting

_ Dean Winchester _

_ Castiel Novak _

_ Dean Winchester _

_ Castiel Novak _

Those were the names that everyone was talking about.

“You knew it was going to be hard” Benny said as he crossed his arms.

“Exactly! I  _ know _ ! So why the hell do you keep reminding me that I need to stay on top?!”

You can only hear people criticise you, your past, your skills on national TV so much before you break.

Benny was about to lose his shit too.

“Dean” he said “We’ve prepared for this for years. You knew what to expect.”

He didn’t answer.

“Before yesterday, you were the top competitor among the people without doubts. Now, the public is starting to split between you and Castiel Novak. You know it’s important that you start with an advantage”.

Dean tried to relax “I know”.

He wasn’t mad at Benny. He just… he was scared. Castiel had managed the simulation much better than him, even if he had completed it too.

Castiel was better than him.

  
  


Dean knew the only way he and Sam could make it out was for them to be the last ones standing, but if they were to compete against someone like Castiel, did they actually had a chance?

Tonight was Dean’s last chance to win the audience before the Trials started. It wasn’t up to him really, tonight the voting would take place. People would choose their favorites and points would be assigned.

However, before each candidate was voted for, a clip of them would be shown, parts of their interview and the simulation.

He hoped that “Son of the Flames” thing could do the trick again.

And then the die would be cast.

  
  
  


Dean tried to enjoy his last day on the headquarters. He enjoyed the shower, his room, the food. 

As night approached he started getting more and more anxious, about the voting, the Trials. Everything.

Tomorrow morning, people across the entire country would turn on their TV, and watch as the 49th Trials to go to Paradise started.

And they would be clinging on the edges of their seats until the first part of the competition ended.

The Trials were divided into three parts, separated between breaks where the remaining competitors would go out of the simulation and onto the real world. Many of them would be the most popular celebrities for a couple of days.

Each part had three phases. Once you completed each one, you were transported to a completely different part of the world. After the third one, you were out of the simulation for the break.

Not everyone’s phases were the same. Some went to a desert on their first phase, and others went there on their last phase.

Which is why finding Sam would be a bitch.

“It’s starting!” Benny called him.

They sat with Jody in front of the TV and watched as the loud music announced the entrance of Crowley. Clapping and screams.

“ _ Tonight you vote! You tell us who is your winner, and we know, there’s a winner among us!” _

“There’s a winner among us” Dean whispered.

He could feel Benny’s eyes on him, he shouldn’t have followed the tradition, he was supposed to be a good rebel and be against it. But Benny couldn’t tell him anything with Jody there.

Sometimes it was hard remembering he wasn’t actually there for the same reason everyone else.

“ _ Our servers are now working and counting your votes, darlings!”  _ Crowley announced  _ “Remember, the voting closes at midnight, and we’ll reveal the scores live”. _

Everyone in America was taking out their phones and choosing their favorites. Scores from one to twelve would be assigned. Scores higher than eight were considered the most popular ones.

“ _ Now, we’ll start with one of the most surprising competitors we’ve ever had” _

People started cheering.

_ “You adore him, and frankly, we like him too! Ladies and gentleman, you know him as the Son of the Flames!” _

The crowd stood up to clap him. He could hear his name being screamed.

_ “This has so far been Dean Winchester!”  _

A gigantic screen behind Crowley showed his name. Then he saw himself getting on the stage that first time for his interview. He saw himself walking slowly, being confused by the strong lights and all the noise.

They jumped to the most interesting parts, the stuff about his brother, his family. They showed his speech about Sam and how sorry he was for having left him. Then they showed the part where he talked about his parents.

He saw how he had stood up, took a deep breath, and started spinning.

_ Wow _ he thought as his shirt started burning. It looked real, he was scared for a moment and wondered how did he not burnt himself alive.

They showed people screaming his name as he left the stage.

Then came a couple of clips of his simulation, they showed him fighting, running, and then killing all the creatures. They ended with a clip of him stabbing a creature right in the middle of the chest, no hesitation.

The screen went black after that, and the crowd was happily cheering and screaming again. But he didn’t know if that would be enough, there was no way of knowing until the voting ended.

  
  
  
  


Dean watched every competitor’s clips. Some seemed more popular than others, but he wasn’t sure if anyone was as popular as him. Sam had done well, but not being able to complete the simulation wasn’t exactly helping him.

Midnight was close when he heard Crowley announce they would show the last contestant.

_ “He has astonish us all, and I got a feeling, he’s going to keep surprising us! Ladies and gentleman, he’s the highest score ever, Castiel Novak!” _

He watched carefully as he saw the shy boy appear on screen. Dean hadn’t noticed it before, but he always looked like his mind was ahead of everything that was happening, like he was always thinking about something else but still paying attention to what was happening at that moment.

He had a sharp nose, his pale skin looked soft and smooth, and contrasted with his black hair amazingly. He was very quiet, but when he spoke the way his features moved was hypnotizing. 

Dean was conscious that he wasn’t ugly himself, but the… soft, perfect beauty that Castiel had was different. That type of beauty couldn’t survive the ghettos, Dean was sure of that. That type of beauty would end up raped, or murdered, or saved from the ghettos by someone with money who fell in love with him.

Anyway, he wouldn’t last long where Dean comes from. So how did he manage to survive without being noticed?

Was he truly from there?

He had no coach, no relatives or friends. He was alone. He was a mystery that Dean just couldn’t look away from.

They then showed parts of his simulation. He had moved so quickly… his mind should have been going at a thousand miles per hour.

  
  


Benny watched him as Dean looked at the boy in the screen. He saw how helplessly stuck Dean’s eyes were, like he was bound to look at that guy. 

He was analyzing Castiel, as his rival, but there was also something more. He was as lost in his charm as the audience. 

Benny couldn’t decide whether that was good or bad. Dean couldn’t fall into that kind of… temptentations. Not now. But, Castiel was his major threat right now, it was clear for everyone that those two were the favorites. People were waiting for them to fight. 

So what if they didn’t?

Castiel could beat Dean, Benny was almost sure of that. Even if he had all his faith on Dean, Castiel seemed so different to everyone else, he looked like he was ready for everything.

So what if they didn’t have to fight? What if they gave the public a different story to the “enemies” one that everyone knew?

Benny could work with that. He could sell Dean’s little crush both, to make him even more likeable, and as an excuse in case he lost fighting Castiel and came out alive.

He couldn’t tell Dean, though. He would never accept he liked the boy, Benny knew him enough to know that.

  
  


“ _ Time has come my dears! Voting’s closed. We are going to reveal the first score of the night!” _

Dean tensed on his seat.

Benny touched his shoulder, reassuring him.

“ _ And our first of score of tonight is nothing less than Dean Winchester! Ladies and gentlemen, here is the score of the Son of the Flames!” _

Dean could hear people clapping and cheering, but it didn’t help to calm him down. His name appeared on the screen again, and he held his breath as a number was shown below it.

He didn’t move as he saw it.

Benny’s hand relaxed on his shoulder. 

The crowd exploded.

“Dean!” Jody said, laughing.

“ _ An impressive eleven! This is by far the highest score any sponsored competitor has ever gotten!”  _ Crowley said.

Eleven.

_ Eleven. _

“Oh my god” Dean whispered.

“That’s my Dean!” Benny said shaking him as he laughed.

Dean couldn’t help but smiling too.

  
  


Sam got a nine. It was more than Dean had expected, and he was extremely happy about it.

Happier than he was for his eleven, actually.

No other competitor had gotten an eleven so far. A guy called “Alastair” got a ten, two friends of his got nines.

They were dangerous too.

  
  


After Sam’s score, it was clear that there was only one score he was waiting for.

Castiel’s.

It took a while to get to the last competitor, Crowley presented him as cheerfully as always, and reminded the audience that he was the highest score ever gotten on a test.

_ Like anyone could forget _ Dean thought bitterly.

Castiel’s name appeared on screen.

Dean felt his heart racing.

Why was it taking so long?

What was the score?

The number appeared on screen slowly, and Dean remained still as he everyone else reacted. The audience cheered. Benny cursed as he buried his head on his hands.

_ No. _

_ Fuck no! _

“ _ It seems we have another impressive eleven!” _ Crowley screamed “ _ What a surprise, to see this kind of draw…” _

“He didn’t beat you” Jody said.

“It’s not enough” Benny replied quickly “If Dean had no advantage over him now, and Castiel turns out to be better at the Trials, we are lost”.

Dean didn’t say anything.

  
  
  


Benny could only hope that Dean would still look at Castiel with that… lust tomorrow, as the other boy probably tries to murder him.


	7. Into the Trails

Dean didn’t sleep that night.

He stayed in bed, looking at the roof, thinking.

He was worried, and he was scared.

The first sun rays came through the window, and he realised he hadn’t slept in the entire night. Now he had to get up, take a shower, have breakfast, and he would be taken to get everything set up for the Trials’ simulation. They would sedate him, and by the time he woke up, he’d be inside the Trials.

Well, actually he’d be inside a room with the rest of the competitors, sat still, like he was sleeping. The actual action would happen inside his mind. That was also scary, there wouldn’t be goggles, or special suits or anything like that, there would be no connection to the actual world. The Trials were made to feel real and have no scape.

He stayed under the warm water as much as he could. 

  
  
  
  


“Eat” Benny said as he gave him a slice of bread “you’re gonna need it”.

Dean just nodded.

“Remember what we said about the first day?”

“I’ll try to grab a backpack and a weapon from the supplies’ pile, but not get too close, is too dangerous, too easy to get killed or hurt. Then run like crazy until I get teleported. Find water and food as soon as I can” Dean answered.

“Good”

  
  
  


The walk to the nursery was silent. Benny was next to him, Jody behind them. 

They would put a chip on the back of his head, that would connect him to the simulation for the Trials.

The doors of the nursery were completely white, as soon as they got to them, they slided by themselves without making a sound. Inside there was an equally white room.

Dean was supposed to go in alone, so it was “goodbye” time.

Jody hugged him tightly “Good luck” she whispered. 

“Thank you” he said as he hugged her back.

Benny patted him on the back with a smile.

He took a deep breath, and stepped inside the room.

“Dean”

He turned quickly. He was nervous, he… didn’t want to go. But he had to.

Benny was looking at him in such a deep way, he was probably nervous too.

“You’re my favorite” he said.

Dean could only stare into his best friend’s eyes as the door closed again.

That was it. Those were his goodbyes.

“Dean Winchester?” He heard a voice and turned to his right.

A girl with red head and completely white clothes smiled at him.

“Yes” he said.

“Take a sit please” she nodded towards a white litter. 

Dean looked around as he sat on the bed. The fact that everything was white was unsettling to say the least.

“Give me your arm” she said as she extended her hand.

Dean saw she was holding a syringe in her other hand.

“What’s that?” he asked, his voice shaking a little. He knew it was the sedant, he knew everything that would happen to him, in theory. But to actually live it after training for it for all those months was making him a little too nervous.

“You’ve already been explained the procedure” she said simply, Dean couldn’t tell if she was mad or bored or completely indifferent to the situation “Your arm please”.

He raised his arm slowly, and watched at the nurse touched it, looking for a vein probably, before seeing how the needle entered his skin. It hurt only a little.

He remembered trying to say something to the nurse before his vision became blurry. After that, he went blank.

  
  
  
  


He could hear his own heartbeat. He felt it, inside of his head, like a pounding. It hurt.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and was immediately blinded by the light.

_ What the…? _

He looked down and blinked, the pain fading and his vision coming back as he did so.

The first thing he saw were his own feet. He was wearing black boots. He was… standing?

How was he standing if he just woke up?

He looked up.

There was other people, they were standing too, forming a circle. They were all dressed in black. It wasn’t until he saw the pile of weapons in the middle that he realised he was inside the Trials.

He was breathing heavily as he looked around him. They were standing in circular platforms, one for each competitor. Some people were still waking up, Dean tried to look beyond them, they were on a large field. Green grass extended as far as his eye could see.

He looked at the other competitors, trying to find Sam, but he probably was behind the weapons and he couldn’t see him.

Something vibrated on his arm, and he looked down. There was a watch on his left wrist, the screen in the middle of it showed a white number:

_ 100% _

That was his life percentage. 

Before he could give it much thought the fact that he was on a simulation came to his mind. He looked at his hand astonished, it looked real. He closed it a couple of times. It felt real.

The texture of his skin, the feeling of his fingers one against the other, everything was perfect. He pushed his nail against his own skin and felt the slight pain of it.

A loud  _ beep _ took him out of his thoughts.

He looked at the center of the circle, a red number appeared on top of the supplies, floating. It seemed surprisingly real.

_ Countdown _ he thought as he saw the  _ 20 _ change into a  _ 19. _

It was about to start. Right now, the entire country was probably watching, waiting for the competition to begin. For the bloodbath, the fights, the survival.

And there he was. About to shit his pants.

Even if Dean was the oldest there, some of those kids didn’t look eighteen. Some looked even older than him. Many looked ready to rip throats and stab backs.

_ 15 _

Dean took a deep breath, and started analysing the pile,of supplies.

He wanted a backpack, they usually put very useful stuff on them. A bottle, rope, maybe even some food if you were very lucky.

He spotted some but they were really far from him, it was pointless to take the risk and go for them when he knew someone would get there first.

_ 10 _

He saw a large metal stick coming from the ground. A spear.

He was good with the spear, he found it useful and easy to handle. It was a little too close to the middle for his liking, but he trusted himself, he could grab it before anyone could attack him.

_ 5 _

He tried to relax as much as he could. He didn’t look at the spear, he didn’t want anyone to notice he was going for it.

_ 4 _

_ 3 _

He looked once again for Sam, but he couldn’t see him.

2

_ Breath, Dean. _

_ 1 _

A loud noise.

Dean didn’t look at anyone, he didn’t try to see if anyone had gone off their platforms.

He jumped and as soon as his feet touched the grass he started running.

Running towards the middle.

He could hear other steps but he didn’t look.

He extended his arm before reaching the spear, he pulled it off the ground without stopping. 

He heard a scream, and the unforgettable sound of metal going through flesh.

_ Don’t look back. Keep running. _

He saw a backpack, half hidden by the grass, and quickly changed his direction to try and grab it.

“DEAN!”

He stopped.

“SAM?!” he screamed as he turned.

For a moment he saw someone on the ground. A blonde girl was on top of him.

She stabbed him with a knife.

It wasn’t Sam.

He blinked, and then the girl had disappeared. Everyone disappeared.

He was panting as he looked around. He wasn’t in that field anymore, there where trees surrounding him, but not like a forest. Like a jungle.

“Sam?” he said, knowing it was useless.

He turned around, looking at where the backpack had been, it wasn’t there anymore.

They had teleported him. He had lost it.

And he had lost Sam too. He didn’t know where the kid was, or if he was okay. He was alone.

He looked up, the sky was starting to look pink. He didn’t have much sunlight left.

He only had a spear.

Dean looked around again, trying to decide which way should he go. He needed to find water and food. And a place to stay the night.

  
  


Dean walked a lot. He was definitely in a jungle, but there was no animal in sight nor any sign of water nearby.

The night was almost fully settled now. He could see some silhouettes of the top of the high trees if he looked up. He wanted to go to sleep, but he knew it was like giving himself to any killer that was out there. 

He carried his spear firmly, trying to remain alert.

His mind kept taking him to Sammy, but he tried to focus. Sam was fine, he had to believe that, and he had to be fine himself, so that he could help him. 

It was hot, his suit was thin, but he still started to sweat as walked in between the plants.

Something hit his head, not hard, just a little tap.

He looked up, but he couldn’t see very well, just the black shape of the leaves of a tree against the sky.

Another thing hit his hand. He managed to catch it before it fell, and the thing broke inside his palm, leaving a sticky juice on his skin.

He tried to look at it with the little light he had.

_ Berries _ .

They looked dark, probably purple. Dean tried to see the tree again, they seemed to be growing from it. He recognised that tree, and those berries. He could eat them. 

He’d found food!

He smiled as he stuck the spear on the tree trunk. He used it as support to lift himself up as he climbed the tree.

The berries were higher than he thought, but it was worth it. He didn’t know when he would find food again.

He went one foot at a time, trying to get a good grip on the wood before continuing. 

“Stop”

Dean jumped at the voice, his foot gave a false step and for a moment he feared he would fall, but his arms held him in place.

He looked up, something made of metal shined in the darkness, reflecting the moonlight. 

An arrow.

The point aiming right at his head.

“Don’t move” the voice said again.

It was a boy, but Dean couldn’t distinguish him in the darkness.

“Wait” Dean said “Don’t shoot” he lowered his head, trying to show respect or submission or anything that said  _ I come in peace. _

“Do you have food?” the guy said.

“No” Dean answered quickly.

“Water?”

“No”

“I might as well shoot you then, I’d be doing you a favor”.

Dean swallowed. The boy spoke with sarcasm, he didn’t believe him, and Dean couldn’t blame him, he wouldn’t believed himself either.

“Please don’t” he said softly “I swear, I have nothing”

It took a moment for the other boy to answer.

“Then go. As far from here as you can. If I see you near me I shoot you” his voice was hard, confident “and leave the spear”.

Dean looked up. He couldn’t do that, if he left the spear he would have nothing. And it was way too early in the competition for the watchers to send him gifts. 

“Wait” he said once again.

The moon had risen now. Its soft light was hitting his attacker’s face.

It showed him the shape of a sharp nose, and soft features, big eyes. 

Dark hair.

“Castiel?” Dean whispered.

Castiel didn’t move, he kept the arrow pointing at him, and his arm ready to let it go and shoot Dean.

But… why hadn’t he shot him already?

“Leave. Now” Castiel said.

But what if he left and Castiel still shot him as he was walking away? But… why would he do that? Why not shoot him right there? He surely knew Dean was his biggest competition so far, why not end that while he could?

“You asked for food” Dean said, his arms were hurting for being on the tree for so long “You asked for food before water. Why?”

He knew he was playing with fire there. One movement, and Castiel could end his life. But he had this… feeling, he didn’t have to walk away.

“You are not as smart as I thought you would be” Castiel answered.

“You already have water. But no food. I can help you with that… if you let me keep the spear”

Castiel stretched the string on his bow even more “So you do have food. Good, I can take it from your dead body”.

“No!” He said quickly “No I don’t have food. But I can get it. You need me if you want it”

Castiel remained silent. He was considering his offert.

“And why would that be?”

Dean swallowed.

“You are sat on a tree that has berries. You are smart, you already noticed that, but you haven’t grabbed them or you wouldn’t be so concerned about food.”

Silence.

“You don’t know if you can eat them” Dean continued “I can tell you”.

“And why would I trust you?”

“I’ll eat them first” 

Castiel frowned at him. 

“Give me your spear” he said. Dean didn’t move “Now!”.

He sighted before he ripped the spear from the wood.

“Put it on the branch. Next to me. If you make a move I don’t like I let the arrow go”.

Dean carefully raised his arm.

And then a loud desperate scream was heard through the jungle.

Castiel and Dean both turned.

Dean could have stabbed Castiel right there, but something stopped him, he couldn’t do it.

The screaming continued.

“What—?”

“Shh” Castiel shushed him, but didn’t stop threatening him with the arrow.

Dean looked beyond Castiel and the trees, there was light coming from there.

It was a fire, at the distance.

“ _ HELP ME! HELP ME PLEASE HELP!” _

A girl’s scream. It sounded so full of desperation and pain.

They both remained silent as they heard her scream for a while.

“How much do you know about berries?” Castiel asked quietly.

“A lot” Dean whispered immediately.

The screams were still going, she asked for help. Dean knew he shouldn’t trust those sounds, they might be part of the simulation.

“Then I’m keeping your spear” Castiel said “and you”.

“B-but—”

“Quiet!” Castiel whispered “Climb to a branch. We spend the night here. Tomorrow you’ll help me with food and  _ then _ I’ll give you your spear back”.

The screaming kept going.

“How do I know you won’t kill me at night?” Dean said.

“I’m not the one you should be scared about” he answered, and nodded towards the screaming.

“You know what that is?”

Castiel nodded.

 


	8. The bottle

_“HELP ME PLEASE! HELP!”_

Dean opened his eyes as he gasped.

He looked around, blinking a few times. He was sat on a tree branch, his back resting against the trunk. He was still in the jungle, and the sun was starting to shine.

No one was screaming, he could only hear the sound of a few birds at the distance.

_I must have dreamt with that scream._

His mouth was dry, he needed water, soon.

A sound came from below him.

_Castiel._

Castiel. He was with Castiel… How could he fall asleep?! He could have been murdered!

He looked down slowly.

On the branch below him, Dean could see Castiel’s dark hair, it looked soft. He was sat just like Dean, he had his arrows hanging from one shoulder, his bow too, and he had Dean’s spear in his hands, he was touching the middle of it, slowly, like he was caressing it. There was a black backpack on top of his legs.

_Of course you managed to get both, a weapon and a backpack._

His movements were soft, just like his face. It was hard to think that he was deadly, but Dean could remember the way that boy had threatened him, how he looked ready to shoot him.

Castiel’s hand stilled and he looked up. His eyes immediately found Dean’s, and Dean got to see their actual color for the first time in person.

They were the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

Castiel looked at him sharply, with precision and what seemed to be calculated movements.

“It was a stupid thing to do, Dean Winchester” he said “Falling asleep like that. You could have fallen”.

Dean blinked a few times as he processed Castiel’s words. Was Castiel helping him?

He knew his name. Had he just realised who he was? In the daylight? Or did he already know when he decided to let him leave?

“Don’t look so surprised, everyone knows who you are” he continued before Dean could say anything.

“The same can be said about you, Castiel” Dean said “You didn’t sleep?”

“It was too dangerous”

With that, Castiel went back to running his fingers on the spear.

“Are you going to get me food or what?” Castiel said after a couple of seconds went by.

His words were harsh, it was weird to listen to his tone when his face showed such softness. He looked delicate, like a porcelain doll.

_But he is deadly._

Castiel wasn’t looking at him anymore, he was just sat there, waiting.

Dean looked at his wrist, his watch was showing a bright 99% on it.

Well, he had lost a precious 1% of his life during the night. It could just be the hunger or the thirst.

He touched the trunk as he got up, carefully, trying not to lose his balance. There was a branch on top of his head that had berries growing from it in a cluster. If only he could reach it…

He extended his arm and stretched himself, but it was still too high for him to reach. With a sigh, he gripped the trunk strongly and started to climb it. He got himself some inches higher and secured his feet before he took one his hands off the trunk to try and grab the berries again.

His fingers brushed them and he got himself apart from the trunk just a little bit more. He could touch them, but rip them off the branch was a different story.

“Fuck” he muttered as he tried to pull the cluster out.

He could see the wood that attached the cluster to the branch breaking slowly.

Dean groaned as he gave it one last pull to rip it entirely.

He heard the wood breaking and gasped as one of his feet slipped of the trunk. He immediately let go of the berries and gripped the trunk again with both his hands, trying not to fall.

He found himself breathing heavily as he regained his balance.

“Dean?” He heard Castiel’s voice

It took a couple of seconds for Dean to look down, a few meters below him Castiel sat on his branch, looking at him, with the cluster of berries in one hand and the spear in the other.

 _He must be very fast if he managed to catch the berries_.

Dean swallowed and slowly started to climb down.

  
  


Castiel threw the berries at him once Dean was on the ground, and he started going down himself.

His movements were fast and smooth, like he had done that same thing many times before, like he knew where to exactly put each hand and feet by heart. Dean couldn’t stop looking.

He was on the ground next to Dean in no time. He had the backpack on, the arrows and the bow hanging from his shoulder, and the spear on his hand.

Castiel was shorter than him, not much shorter but still. He was slimmer than Dean, he didn’t have that much muscle. It would have been easy for Dean to think of Castiel as fragile or weak if it wasn’t because his current situation.

He was basically Castiel’s bitch.

Great.

“And?” Castiel asked as if he was tired of Dean looking at him.

“Oh uh…” Dean looked down at the berries between his hands.

Now, with the sunlight, he could see they were a dark purple. He checked their shape again, the way they grew from the cluster, and the shape of the tree again. He crashed one between his hands.

“Yeah, they are good to eat” he said, before he could even blink Castiel spoke.

“Then eat. Eat them”

His eyes had no emotion in them, even with his soft beauty, his expression was completely hard.

“Go ahead” he insisted.

Dean looked at Castiel’s hand, gripping the spear tightly, before he ripped a few berries. His eyes locked in Castiel’s, both boys had expressions on their face that would scare anyone. As he looked into the blue eyes, Dean raised his hand towards his face, and without any hesitation he put the berries on his mouth and started chewing.

Castiel didn’t take his eyes off him at any moment. Not even when he swallowed.

“Show me your watch” he said.

Dean kept his eyes on him as he raised his hand. Castiel had what he wanted now, his little game was over for Dean. He wanted his spear back.

Castiel looked at the _99%_ shining on Dean’s wrist.

“Happy?” Dean said.

Castiel gave him a very hard look.

“No. I’ll be happy in a couple of hours, when I see you really aren’t dead, or intoxicated or anything like that”.

“What? Do you really think I’d eat poisonous berries and die just so that I could kill you too?”

Castiel took the cluster from Dean’s hands and turned around.

“It’s not your intentions that I distrust” he said as he started to walk away.

Dean frowned as he saw his thin figure moving in between the tall plants and huge trees. He didn’t understood Castiel. He hadn’t kill him, but they hadn’t really formed an alliance either. Was Castiel just going to get rid of him once he saw the berries were safe? Or was he planning something else?

It wasn’t a rational decision, he didn’t consider the pros and cons, the possible outcomes, nothing. If he wanted to, he could have run the other way. If Castiel had given him a bad feeling, that was the moment to run. It was almost an impulse that made him gave that first step towards probably the most dangerous person in the Trials.

He started following Castiel.

  
  


Dean wasn’t sure how long they were walking. They remained silent for what seemed like many hours.

Dean didn’t know if Castiel was following a path, or if he was just mindlessly walking just like Dean had done before he ran into him.

What Dean did know, was that Castiel was putting a lot of distance between them and the place where they had seen that fire and heard those screams coming from the night before.

He was tempted to ask, but didn’t really feel like talking to Castiel. He seemed reserved, maybe even unsure about having brought Dean. When Dean had asked at night, Castiel said he knew what those screams were, and he hinted that there was something dangerous that Dean should be worried about that wasn’t himself, yet he still hadn’t explained any of those statements.

And Dean had the feeling that asking would only bring him more vague answers.

  


Problems started at midday.

The heat had escalated real quick, it was almost unbearable at that point. Dean had sweat dripping from his forehead no matter how much he cleaned it. His mouth was crying for water and he was hungry enough to be considering asking Castiel for the berries.

Castiel kept walking, a couple of steps ahead of him.

It was about twenty minutes later that Dean noticed Castiel wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed by the heat and the tiredness. He didn’t turn ti check on Dean once, and still his hands were pulling out from the cluster one berrie at a time, and taking them to his mouth.

He was hungry too.

Dean noticed they were slowing down, and he couldn’t have been more grateful for that. Castiel seemed to be getting more clumsy when he had to avoid rocks or fallen branches.

“Are you hungry?” Castiel asked without turning.

The question took Dean by surprise. Was he supposed to say the truth?

Castiel stopped walking before Dean could answer. He broke the cluster in two with the point of the spear, and then he turned to Dean and handled him half of the food.

When Dean saw Castiel’s face, he noticed how tired tired the other boy was.

He looked paler than what he actually was, and dark circles were starting to appear under his eyes.

Dean grabbed the berries mindlessly.

Castiel immediately went back to walking.

He had… helped him. He had given him food. Yes, it was food that Dean had gotten, but Castiel could just have kept it all for himself.

Then he remembered, Castiel hadn’t slept last night. He told Dean it was a stupid thing to do.

Dean cleared his throat before speaking, his voice was rough from the thirst.

“We should stop” he said.

“You can stop if you want” Castiel answered “I won’t”.

Dean grabbed a handful of berries and put them in his mouth, the slightly sweet taste and all the juice inside the berries were heaven at that moment.

“Where are you going?” Dean asked.

Castiel didn’t answer.

“This has something to do with what we heard last night, doesn’t it?”

“Yes”

“Is that why you didn’t sleep last night?” he asked “I know you must have rope on your bag. You could have tied yourself to the tree if you were scared of falling”

Dean almost bumped into him when Castiel stopped. He turned around and his tired eyes faced Dean with confusion.

They were standing way too close for Dean’s liking, still he didn't move back. He allowed his eyes to sink into Castiel’s. For some reason, he was starting to look more like… a boy, like a boy of eighteen years old. Maybe it reminded him of Sam, he couldn’t really tell what it was, but he felt like somehow he was supposed to be the “older brother”.

“Why do you even care?” Castiel said, he seemed to be searching answers in Dean’s face “I know what I’m doing. I know why I’m doing it, and I have no interest in risking my life, so if I decide to keep walking is because that’s best for me. I assume that since you are with me you understand that what’s best for me is probably best for you as well”

“You haven’t slept. I haven’t seen you drinking anything, the berries are not enough food to be satisfied, and the heat is going to make you fade in any second. You need to rest” Dean said.

What would he do if Castiel faded? Take his weapons and go? Castiel had given him food… and he knew something that Dean didn’t. Something that seemed important.

He had better chances staying with Castiel.

And for that he needed Castiel to be alive. And conscious.

“That” he added “and your watch is going down fast”

Castiel looked at his wrist. His watch showed a 84%.

“Okay” he said after a couple of seconds “Okay. Yes. Let’s rest for a bit”

He walked to a big tree, and sat on the floor. His back resting against the trunk.

Dean sat next to him, but with a nice distance between them. He purposely sat there, it left Castiel’s bow and arrows away from him.

If he wanted Castiel to trust him, he needed to show him he wasn’t going to attack him.

Castiel could be very smart, and fast, but if he really came from the ghettos there was no way he was healthy enough to resist as much as someone who had trained, like Dean. His watch was proving that.

While Castiel had a 84% on his wrist, Dean had a 90%.

“I saw people” Castiel said, he was resting his head back against the tree “During the day the jungle was quiet, I saw a girl, she was one of the other competitors, the blonde one, it looked like she had decided to settle down for the night. I didn’t talk to her, I don’t think she saw me. Then I climbed the tree, to spend the night there, and when the sun went down, I started hearing noises. Things moving around. They were too many to be competitors. I saw them from the tree, they looked like people. They had weapons, not metal ones like us, it looked like they had made those weapons themselves. They had no clothes on for what I could see”

Dean listened to him silently until he finished.

“They were like… wildlings?” He asked.

“I supposed” Castiel answered “I saw the group moving to the place that girl had been. Then you appeared”

 _Oh_.

“You think the screams were hers?”

Castiel nodded.

“I don’t think they are around during the day. I think they appear at night, which is why we need to get away from them now”

Dean nodded slowly. But that also meant the weren’t going to sleep at night. They had to rest during the day.

“That and we need to find water” Castiel added.

Dean took a deep breath, throwing his head back. The mention of water made him remember how much he wanted to drink anything. The juice from the berries wasn’t enough.

“Isn’t it supposed to funking rain in the jungle?” he complained looking up at the sky. The trees gave them shadow, but the heat from the sun was still there.

Dean was _so_ thirsty. His voice sounded rough. He didn’t know how he was still sweating if it seemed no water was left in him.

Something hit his foot. He looked down to find a metal bottle next to it.

His head shot up and he looked at Castiel. He was still resting his head against the trunk. He seemed to be fighting not to fall asleep.

Dean picked up the bottle. It had some weight, but not much.

“Do you have another bottle?” Dean asked.

“No” Castiel said.

“Then no” Dean said putting the bottle down.

He couldn’t drink that. Firstly, that was the only water Castiel had left for himself, and secondly, if he drank it he would be in debt with Castiel, and he hadn’t planned on forming an alliance with anyone who wasn’t Sam.

Then again, Castiel didn’t seem like he was planning to stab Dean on the back, and if he wanted to last enough to find Sam, an alliance was huge help.

“You are thirsty” Castiel said “Take it before I change my mind”.

Dean looked at the other boy again. He looked tired, he looked more vulnerable than ever before. He must have known that Dean could attack him then, when he had better chances.

Maybe the water was a peace offering. Maybe Castiel thought he could benefit from working with Dean.

Maybe Dean could team up with him, and if they found Sam he would be working with the probably the strongest competitor. Maybe, if something happened to Dean, Sam could keep on going with Castiel.

“Thank you” he said.

And he grabbed the water.


	9. Thirty-nine

They rested for a while, but soon started walking again.

No water or living animal was found. It didn’t rain.

Castiel didn’t seem more rested.

Dean was becoming thirsty again.

They both were tired, and slowing down.

Dean’s mind started to jump from thought to thought aimlessly. He thought about Sammy, about Benny, about his childhood and his training. About how thirsty and tired and hungry he was. About Castiel.

About how soft he looked, how unprotected he seemed despite being so deadly. He thought about his eyes. His nose. His hands. The way he moved.

He thought about his name. Castiel.

_Cas-tee-el._

_Castiel._

It was a weird name.

_Cas._

_Cas. Cas._

That sounded better.

When the sky started to darken he got worried. Castiel had said the wildlings seemed to get out at night.

And they had probably murdered that girl.

“The sky—”

“I know” Castiel interrupted him “I’m just looking for a good tree to spend the night”.

 

He found it a couple of minutes later, Dean trusted his choice.

Castiel tied Dean to the tree, he took out a thin rope from his bag and tied Dean’s hands together before strapping his legs and his torso.

Dean didn’t fight it, he was about to ask why so many precautions were taken on him, but for some reason as he looked at how young Castiel looked with the dark circles under his eyes and his pale face… he decided to stay silent.

It was only a couple of years, but Castiel seemed so small next to Dean.

After that Castiel settled himself on the branch below, and Dean saw he was tying himself too.

Castiel planned on sleeping that night.

_He could kill me in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t matter if I wake up, I can’t move._

He looked down at Castiel again, and closed his eyes with the sight of the dark haired boy letting his head fall, his pale skin barely noticeable in the darkness and his stunning blue eyes closed.

 

He was woken in the morning by him.

Castiel untied him and then climbed down with Dean following.

They walked the entire morning. Both were thirsty, and hungry, and they hadn’t ran into food. No berries. No animals that they could kill or follow to a water source.

It was weird. Someone was purposefully taking those thing away, the simulation wasn’t just copying an actual jungle.

Why would they do that to them?

Were they mad because they were expecting them to fight instead of work together?

Maybe. Probably.

Yeah, that could be it.

So what? Was he supposed to attack Castiel? Make their time together a little more entertaining?

Castiel kept walking in front of him. He didn’t have a clue to what was going on in Dean’s brain… he had the weapons, but he seemed to have his guard down…

The memories from the night before came to his mind. Castiel, sleeping on the branch.

He was only eighteen.

And Dean didn’t have a chance if they fought.

And he didn’t want to attack him.

He just… didn’t want to.

But they would never find any water or food if they kept going on the same path.

“Castiel?” he said.

“Dean” the other boy answered.

He swallowed. He was strangely nervous about interacting with him.

“You, uh… you okay?”

Castiel stopped, he turned to look at Dean.

His blue eyes focused on Dean’s eyes, he frowned, like he was trying to read something on his face.

“What?” Dean asked.

Castiel tensed his jaw.

What could possibly have pissed him about his question? It was just a question. Maybe it wasn’t genuine, maybe it was just to make a little bit of show for the cameras, but still.

Dean couldn’t pay much attention to his anger when he noticed that Castiel had to look up if he wanted to see his eyes.

The memory of Sam came to his mind, how he would have to look up when they were younger if he wanted to see Dean, even when he was mad, and it used to make Dean laugh.

So he couldn’t help smiling.

“Do _you_ feel okay?” Castiel asked still frowning.

“I’m fine, hungry and a little bit sweaty… oh, and I’ve never been more thirsty in my life. But overall fine” he answered changing his smile to sarcastic one.

Castiel faced away and started to walk again.

“Then I’m fine too” he said.

Dean hurried to walk beside him, and not behind him.

Castiel eyed him, but didn’t say anything.

“You know, I was thinking” Dean started “what are we? Are we like allies now, or am I still your slave?”

For the first time, Castiel’s mouth showed the beginnings of a smile, it wasn’t quite there yet, but Dean could try to imagine the rest. It was a good look on him.

“If you were my slave you would be carrying all this stuff for me” he said gesturing to the backpack and the weapons.

“Yeah, but I’m not, ‘cause you don’t trust me, so we aren’t allies either. Allies are supposed to trust each other”

Castiel didn’t answer this time.

“All I’m saying is, if you want us to be working together, maybe you could put a little more trust on me” he continued.

“And…?”

“Hand me the spear”

The younger boy laughed.

His laugh was… melodic. It was soft and it pleased Dean’s ears so much he almost forgot where they were. Almost.

“Shh” he said, trying to shut Castiel up.

He stopped laughing, but still had a smile on his face as he spoke “Don’t worry, if anyone was near us, they would’ve had to walk as much as we did, they always put competitors somewhat near to each other. That, and they would’ve had to have more luck than the screaming girl from the other night”

Dean frowned as he remember her.

“We are safe during the day.” Castiel continued “And I trust that you know how to defend yourself if someone comes near to you”

Dean looked at him. The smile was gone now.

Was that… a compliment?

After a couple of seconds Castiel broke the silence, Dean hadn’t notice he was staring at the younger boy until he spoke “Don’t look so surprised. I watched your simulation, with the black creatures. It was good”.

Dean blinked a couple of times. He was going to answer, say “thank you” or “you too”, but there was something in his throat that wouldn’t let his voice come out.

So he remained silent.

And they just kept walking.

 

Dean was mentally prepared by the time midday came, which wasn’t much help, considering they had no water nor food left. But at least he was aware of his imminent suffering.

They had to stop when the sun started to boil the blood inside their veins, or when it felt like that was the case. They sat under the shade of a large tree, silently, until Dean checked his watch.

He was at 78%. He was surprised to see he was still quite high, he had seen many people die relatively quickly by dehydration in previous trials.

That was not why he was checking though.

He wanted to know if Benny had sent him any messages. Those would appear on the watch screen, but there was nothing, just his percentage.

“It’s too early in the competition for that” Castiel said, just as if he had read Dean’s mind.

Dean lowered his wrist “I know” he said “but just in case”.

Coaches usually weren’t allowed to send messages until the second phase, and all their messages were reviewed before they were sent, so nothing like _LOOK BEHIND YOU!_ was allowed.

Just small helps.

“So… uh…” Castiel was massaging the back of his neck, he looked uncomfortable. Dean raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to continue “this coach of yours…”

_Oh._

Castiel was trying to start a conversation.

Yeah. Dean could do that. And it would certainly be more entertaining than just sitting there silently for their audience.

“Benny” Dean said “He’s my best friend”

Castiel nodded slowly.

“How is it like, you know, to be coachless?” Dean asked, and Castiel just shrugged.

“I don’t mind it, I guess I’m used to being on my own. I feel better on my own”

Dean looked at the ground for a couple of seconds.

_Then why would you take me with you?_

“I uh… I wanted to ask someone” Castiel said.

Dean frowned and looked up.

The boy looked rigid, he shifted slightly on the ground.

He wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing.

If they were going to have one of those _deep_ conversations that made the heart of the audience melt, everyone in the entire country would be looking at them on their screen. More screen time, more popularity, more gifts, when the time comes.

Dean had to watch his tongue.

“I thought you didn’t have any family… or friends” He said, remembering what Castiel had said on his interview.

“He wasn’t exactly a friend” Castiel said.

Dean couldn’t tell if the expression on his face was of sadness or irritation. He probably was only talking about it for the cameras.

Anyway, this person seemed to have been someone _important_ in Castiel’s life.

“Oh” Dean said, ‘cause what else could he do? Ask him to tell him about that guy? That would seen very forced.

The idea hadn’t come to his mind until then, but now he thought of it, it was kind of obvious. Castiel was stunningly beautiful, hell, Dean thought that even the way his hair curled and covered his ears was beautiful, of course he had someone especial back home. Or had at least.

Castiel looked at him, and his eyes opened “Oh no! I didn’t mean to say it like that. He was friend, used to be a friend”

Dean felt the muscles in his face relax, had he been frowning? He hadn’t noticed.

“I just hadn’t seen him in so long that I thought I would be putting him in such an awful situation. I didn’t want to put him through it, not when we haven’t spoke in such a long time”

Dean was the one who nodded this time.

“You can still take him with you” Dean said “If you win, you can say you consider him your family and take him with you”

Castiel lowered his gaze “I don’t think he’d like to come”.

Dean eyed him, his posture reminded him of the one Sam had when Dean yelled at him, he tried not to, but sometimes, when he was little, Sammy would do something very stupid like running just when a car was coming, or mindlessly try to help Dean if someone tried to fight him, and he had to let Sam know somehow that he shouldn’t do that.

He knew that it was wrong, but he wasn’t a dad. He didn’t know how to be one.

“I’m sorry to hear that” Dean whispered.

“No” Castiel answered quickly “At least I’m here only to try and win this, and not to also protect someone I love”

Was he talking about Dean?

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, until Castiel shrugged again “I watched your interview” he said.

Dean raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, so this hole thing of taking me as a hostage was planned?” he joked, and Castiel rolled his eyes.

They stared again.

“Let me tell you, Castiel, for the next time, you don’t need to slave me to catch my attention” Dean said, and then gave the younger boy a smile. It wasn’t any smile, he knew he was giving Castiel his most charming smirk.

 _Just for the cameras_ , he thought.

Castiel looked down, but Dean saw a curve on his lips.

And that made him smile genuinely.

 

They went back to looking for food and water shortly after that, they didn’t talk anymore, Dean heard Castiel’s voice getting raspy. He himself felt his throat dry.

The heat was unforgiving, even if they weren’t directly under the sun.

His percentage had dropped drastically. He didn’t even want to look at it anymore.

Last time he had checked, he was under fifty percent.

When the sun started to go down, Dean didn’t know if that was a blessing or a curse. Yes, the heat would be gone, but they would have to stop and climb some tree and spend the entire night there as their bodies slowly lost more and more water.

Suddenly the wildlings didn’t seem so scary. Not if he was going to die in the middle of the night just because he had to hide since they could potentially come get him.

Both boys started to move progressively slower.

Castiel started to look for a tree.

Dean couldn’t imagine how it was for him to be carrying all that weight, with the backpack and the weapons, when they were both so tired.

Castiel touched one of the tree trunks with his hand, and Dean took the chance to glance at his watch.

_39%_

_Thirty-ni…_

Oh that was bad. That was really bad.

Dean had seen competitors start to fall and lose consciousness at 20%.

Castiel would undoubtedly lose 10% during the night.

For a moment, Dean wondered if waiting for Castiel to dehydrate more severely and then running away was a choice. But he had three major problems with that.

Firstly, his life was also going down fast.

Secondly, taking advantage of that situation to run away would undoubtedly lower his popularity with the watchers. And the audience was the one who send the gifts to the competitors when they were most needed.

And finally, he didn’t want to. He had started to believe he had better chances with Castiel. He knew it was the smartest choice.

It had nothing to do with their chick flick moment from earlier. No. Of course not.

But…

Even if Castiel only had that conversation with him because they needed to put on a show, the things they talked about seemed real.

Maybe Castiel wouldn’t have started to talk about it if they weren’t on national TV, but that didn’t change the fact that he appeared to have opened for Dean.

Dean could feel a change on his attitude.

“Here” Castiel said pointing to a tree, taking Dean away from his thoughts.

Dean nodded and grabbed the trunk to start climbing.

And then a noise came from below.

A small noise.

Fast. Moving.

Dean’s head shot down immediately, he saw a couple of bushes shaking. Something moved in between them.

A living thing. An animal.

It was running away.

Running towards water probably.

Dean was going after it.

“Dean, wait!” Castiel whispered as he saw Dean start moving.

But Dean wasn't stopping. He was not going to die from dehydration on his sleep.

Not that night.

He heard Castiel curse as he started chasing him.

Dean was looking down as he runned, he couldn’t see the animal, just the movement of the plants it run through.

The sky was darkening, and it was getting harder to see where he was going.

Castiel was running behind him.

Then the bushes ended, and Dean saw an animal larger than a rabbit, with dark straight hair, coming out of the leaves.

He didn’t focus too much on it once he heard the unmistakable noise of running water.

He raised his gaze. The water in front of him was reflecting the darkening sky.

A river.

A river, with water… just a couple of meter away.

He turned to look at Castiel with a huge smile on his face.

“We don’t know if we can drink it” Castiel said quietly.

Dean turned and pointed to the other side of the river, where more animals like the one they chased were drinking “It seems to be fine for them” he said, his voice barely audible.

He couldn’t help but smiling as he walked toward the water.

He sighed as he kneeled and touched it with his hands.

Quickly, he cupped his hands and filled them with water.

Water had never tasted so good.

He felt the refreshing thing running all over his face, his mouth, his thoat.

It was heaven.

Castiel followed shortly after.

He drank like a dying man.

_Ha, a dying man…_

Dean started to slowly get himself completely into the water. They weren’t on a very deep part of the river.

The cool water was a blessing on his body. He closed his eyes for a moment, and heard Castiel move next to him, entering in the river.

“I’ll fill the bottle” Castiel whispered.

Dean nodded.

He kept his eyes closed as he enjoyed the feeling of the water on him.

Until he felt Castiel’s hand on his arm, gripping him tightly “What?” he said opening his eyes.

The boy was looking at something in front of him, completely still.

Dean turned his head.

In the darkness, in between the trees, he saw the silhouette of a man.

He distinguished his eyes. Staring at them, widely opened.

Another figure appeared next to him. A woman.

Then another man, next to her.

And another person, and another and another.

They were all looking at them.

Dean looked around. In between the trees, there were eyes. Eyes that were fixed on them.

Dean could see they were naked.

Some of them were holding things on their hands, but he couldn’t tell what they were.

The shine of the moon didn’t let him see much more.

“Castiel, give me my spear” he whispered.

Castiel didn’t move.

The people staring at them started to make this noise… they were breathing, heavily, all at the same time.

Dean could hear it.

“Castiel” he insisted.

The wildlings were moving slowly towards them. Once they were out of the trees, Dean saw they were holding spears, and other primitive looking weapons.

They started to growl at them.

“ _DAMMIT CAS GIVE ME MY FUCKING SPEAR!”_

In a quick movement Castiel handed Dean the metal weapon.

And then he heard the sound of an arrow being pulled out from Castiel’s quiver.


	10. Even

Dean remembered seeing the bodies fall in front of him. They dropped on their knees or they fell back, with an arrow sticking out of their chest. Or their head.

He remembered looking back for a second, and seeing Castiel’s hand moving quickly to grab another arrow and place it on his bow. He saw how the boy tensed the string and just as the moon shined on the metal, he let the arrow go.

And another wildling fell to the ground.

He didn’t miss once.

He was fast.

But their attackers were too many, and he couldn’t shoot them all.

“Behind me!” Dean screamed at Castiel when the wildlings got to the water.

They didn’t seem to care if they died. They weren’t scared of Castiel’s arrows, even when he had killed several of them.

It was like their only motive was to get to them. Nothing else mattered.

Dean remembered seeing expressions of pure madness on their faces.

Castiel kept shooting, and Dean got in front of him, a man tried to jump on top of him, but Dean sank the spear in his chest.

With Castiel shooting at the ones that were still in the land, he had to fight anyone who got into the water.

A woman tried to stab him with something sharp, he couldn’t tell what, but he pushed her aside and cutted her throat open.

The water splashed when she fell.

It was hard to move, his legs felt trapped in the river.

Another woman jumped over him, screaming, she started to scratch his face with her nails. Dean grunted as he grabbed her and threw her away.

When two men approached him, he prepared to try and fight them both, but an arrow went through one’s head, so Dean quickly turned and went through the other one’s middle with the spear.

But then three more came.

And four after that.

And Castiel’s speed suddenly wasn’t making them all fall.

And Dean’s spear only had two sharp ends.

The last thing he remembered was Castiel gasping.

Then pain, on the back of his head. And that was it.

The rest was black.

  
  


Dean moaned as he tried to open his eyes. His head was spinning, beating with pain.

He tried to massage his forehead.

But he couldn’t move his hand.

“What the—?” he mumbled.

It was dark, Dean blinked a few times before he managed to see anything. There was… people, staring at him. Wildlings.

He tried to look up, but he couldn’t move. His hands were tied above him, harsh rope stuck them to a post. He started to struggle as he looked down, his legs were tied too. His feet were barely touching the… ground?

No. He was much higher than the wildlings. 

They had strapped him on top of a huge pile of sticks.

_ No. No no no no no. _

He fought against his restraints strongly, he pulled at the ropes on his hands grunting.

The screams of the girl from the other night came to his mind. He could hear her calls for help over and over again inside his head as he struggled.

The rope didn’t break.

He looked down again as he panted, the wildlings were looking at him.

They started to laugh.

It was a horrible, macabre sound.

In the middle of the dark night, something started to shine, Dean saw a white sparkle out of the corner of his eye. He tried to turn as much as he could with the restraints, the post sliding against his back as his chest raised and fell quickly.

At the distance he could see… smoke, white shining smoke that formed a ball, floating above the ground.

He had seen that before, in every single Trial he had ever seen. At the end of every single phase.

It was the finishing line of a phase, the “transporter”. You touched it and you were taken to the next phase, a different world with different challenges. Different people. 

Unless the transporter was touched by more than one competitor at the same time, then they were taken to the next phase together.

But why would it appear now? Just to show him how close he had been? 

No, many people died on the first phase. They didn’t focus on the competitors that didn’t make it so early in the competition. 

So then why? If he couldn’t get out and reach it why would the transporter be there?

Maybe it wasn’t for him.

And that meant…

He looked around desperately.

“CASTIEL!” he screamed.

The wildlings laughed louder.

Another light appeared in front of him. A yellowish light.

Fire.

A woman was holding a torch. She walked in between the others as he approached Dean. There was a smile on her face.

“No! Wait!” He screamed as he moved desperately trying to get his hands loose. He was kicking at the air, but he could barely move his legs with the rope around them “Cas! CAS! PLEASE HELP!  _ HELP ME PLEASE! _ ”

The woman kept walking, slowly, as if she was enjoying watching Dean scream and fight.

“ _ WAIT! PLEASE DON’T! DON’T! _ ”

The woman stood at the bottom of the pile of sticks, her hands holding the torch away from his body, just above all that wood. She only had to open her hand...

“ _ NO! _ ” Dean shouted at her.

The woman gave him a smile.

“ _ CAS! _ ”

Dean swore he could see the woman’s fingers moving, ready to let the torch fall and start burning the wood under him.

And then something went through her forehead.

It came out of it covered in the woman’s blood. An arrow.

Dean gasped.

She fell on her knees, her eyes were strangely open, as her head hit the ground. And the torch fell on top of the sticks.

It felt like the world moved in slow motion as he saw the pile under him caught fire, a huge flare started to spread under him.

The heat stroke him immediately.

Before he could even scream, he saw another thing fly just above him. Another arrow. It buried itself on the post behind him, right in between his hands.

His arms felt immediately to his sides, the arrow had gone through the rope. 

In no time Dean was bending, trying to get his legs free. But the fire was growing quickly, and the heat was unbearable. It felt like his skin was burning as he pulled at the rope, trying to break the knot.

His hands were sweating like crazy, he could feel the rope sliding against them. He felt drops of sweat running through his face.

_ Come on come on come on _ , he thought as he kept pulling at the knot.

He managed to untie himself just as the fire consumed most of the pile. 

The wildlings were screaming, looking around to find the person who had killed one of them and freed Dean.

Dean turned to face the post, he tried to grip it tightly, as he raised himself and started climbing it. The fire had devoured the entire pile nown, and it was starting to burn the post. 

He climbed as fast as he could, the top of the flames chasing him. The post was tall, but it would only buy Dean time to get to the top, unless…

Unless the post fell to the side, and he managed to jump before he was burnt.

Then maybe he had a chance.

Dean was dying to run his hand over his face to take the sweat away, but he couldn't. He had to keep climbing. Quickly.

When his hands reached the top he had to use all of his strength to lift himself up. The diameter of the post wasn’t enough for him to stand on top of it, so he just tried to make himself as short as possible as he hang onto the wood.

He could see the fire coming for him. He heard a creaking sound, his stomach twisted inside his body as he felt the post starting to lean.

It happened fast, the post was falling, Dean was struggling not to let go, the wildlings were confused about what was happening in front of them.

Dean looked at the distance for a very brief second, looked at where the transporter was, and saw a silhouette, dark against the white shine.

_ Castiel _ .

He managed to throw himself to the ground before the post fell completely, he landed barely standing and turned to see the huge piece of wood on fire hitting the grass. The enormous bonfire behind it had Dean staring of a second as the sweat dropped from his chin to the ground and the realisation sank in completely—

He could have died.

He really  _ really  _ could have been burnt alive.

And people would watch it from their homes. On TV.

A wildling screamed at him, and Dean remembered where he was.

_ Fuck _ , he thought as he saw the wildlings start to move toward him. He turned as fast as he could and despite the pain the rope had left on his legs he started running.

He could hear they had started to run after him.

The transporter wasn’t so far, he could get there before the wildlings, but he had to be fast.

The silhouette was still there. It was Castiel, Dean had no doubt, the heigh, the backpack, he could even see the bow and his spear.

Castiel had waited for him. Castiel wanted them to stay together.

_ Not Castiel—Cas. _

He moaned from the pain as he kept running, he was panting heavily.

He looked over his shoulder quickly, the wildlings were all running after him, just a couple of meters behind. Maybe he couldn’t make it.

“Dean!” He heard Cas’s voice, his hand was barely above the transporter, ready to touch it.

Dean extended his hand as he ran. 

_ Go. Come on. _

He ran straight into the light, he barely had time to see Castiel’s face before his hand touched the shiny thing. What he did saw, was Cas’s hand sinking into the white ball at the same time as his did.

  
  


His body hit something hard. He grunted, and slowly rolled to lie on his back.

First thing he felt, was cold. A skin freezing, bone shattering cold on his face.

Slowly, Dean opened his eyes.

White.

He saw white.

Was he dead? He sure felt like a potato sack that had been thrown around with no care. Was that how death felt like?

He looked at his side on the ground. It was white too. 

Dean lifted his hand slowly, pain along his arm, and saw his hand was covered in a black glove. That was new. He touched the white ground, and a soft thing lifted.

Snow.

He looked again upwards, the sky was white. It wasn’t night anymore, the simulation could have changed it. 

Maybe he wasn’t dead.

“Cas?” he asked as he lifted himself up.

He looked around. There was snow everywhere.

“Cas!” he called again. No one answered.

Maybe they hadn’t touch the thing at the same time… no. No, he saw Cas’s hand.

He gave a couple of steps forward. He was wearing black snow boots, that was also new. His suit seemed thicker than the one had used on the jungle.

He took a quick glance at his watch, he was at fifty-eight percent. Good, drinking water had really helped him.

“Castiel!” he shouted a little louder.

He couldn’t see very far. Maybe Cas had hitted his head, maybe he was unconscious.

“Dean!” 

“Cas?!” he tried to see where the scream had come from, but there was nobody near him.

“Dean!” he heard again. It came from in front of him.

He gave a couple of steps in the snow, and then something caught his attention. In the white snow, a grey thing was half buried. He recognised the pointy triangle, it was his spear.

He took it from the snow and immediately noticed another thing lying next to it. Cas’s quiver. He picked it up, and grabbed some arrows that had fallen.

“Cas?” he said again.

“There’s a slope!” Cas shouted.

Dean gave a few more steps carefully, and indeed, the snow seemed to end there.

He leaned forward, there was a descent of a couple of meters, and a groove carved into the snow.

Cas had fallen? 

“Dean” 

He looked down, Cas was standing at the bottom of the slope, he was very still. Dean could see the bow still hanging from his shoulder, his backpack was on the ground, a couple of meters away from him.

He frowned, what was Cas doing there?

Then he looked below Cas, he was standing on a very flat dark surface.

_ Is that… ice? _

He heard a very soft sound, and saw a big white crack appear under Cas’s feet.

“Shit” he said as started to walk down the slope, he descended carefully, trying not to slip.

“I didn’t realise it was ice when I stood” Cas said, his voice shaking.

Dean swallowed. The cracks beneath Cas were big.

“Listen to me” he said, and the other boy raised his eyes “move very slowly, and try to crawl to me”.

Cas shook his head softly “I can’t move, it’ll break”.

“I can’t go to you, my weight would be too much. You need to come here” Dean said.

He saw Cas taking a deep breath.

He wasn’t very far.

His suit had changed just like Dean’s, and as he slowly crouched Dean noticed the gloves on his hands.

“Good” Dean said “Remember, slowly”

Very carefully, Cas slided his hand through the ice. Dean heard the sound of a breaking glass, and saw another white crack appear under Castiel’s hand just as the ice below him broke, and he sank into the ice.

Dean’s heart stopped.

“CAS!” He shouted.

Cas was completely gone in a fraction of a second.

Dean looked around like something lying there could help him, but there was nothing.

_ Dammit _ , he thought as he slowly walked forward, into the ice.

Ice was thicker on the shore, so he was probably safe, but he couldn’t go any further.

But Cas was freezing underwater.

Cas had saved him from the fire.

He moved slowly towards the hole in the ice, and then an arm covered in black clothing came out of it.

Cas’s head appeared quickly and Dean saw him taking a deep breath, then coughing

as his arms tried to grab the ice in front of him to pull himself up.

“Cas, open your eyes!” Dean said as he leaned towards the boy, he extended the spear towards him “Grab the spear, I’ll pull you out”.

Dean saw his blue eyes blink as he tried to open them. He was still coughing as he took hold of the spear in front of him, his wet hair was flattened on his face.

Dean grunted as he pulled the spear, trying to lift Cas’s weight with it.

Slowly, his body came out of the water, and Cas pulled himself up with his legs.

“Here Cas, come here” he said, offering the boy a hand.

Cas lifted a very shaky hand and Dean help him to stand, he guided Cas carefully until they were out of the ice, Cas’s entire body was shaking.

“Oh shit” Dean said as he looked at Cas’s soaked suit. 

Cas gripped Dean’s forearm tightly enough to hurt, his teeth shivering.

“I-I’m” he said softly “co-old-d” 

Dean looked at him worriedly. 

Cas was entirely soaked. They were fucked.

“I… You need to take this off” Dean said, Cas looked down at himself “It’s wet. You’ll freeze”

Cas nodded, his face showed pure pain as he grabbed the top part of his black suit and started lifting it. 

Dean looked at the ice again, Cas’s bag was still lying there, completely dry. But it was on the ice. 

It had to be really worth it.

“Is there any clothes in the bag, Cas?” he asked “a blanket, anything”.

Cas finished taking the wet top off and nodded “A… bl-lanket” he said.

Dean cursed quietly as he looked at the bag, he closed his fists and considered the risk.

But then he turned to Cas. His upper body was completely naked, and Dean could see the shadows of his ribs on his pale skin, even his chest was shivering.

_ He saved your life. He could have left, and he waited for you. _

“Fuck” Dean said as he gently walked back into the ice, he grabbed the spear tightly and started walking towards the bag. He avoided the hole on the ice as much as he could, and tried to stay as far as possible from the bag as he leaned in and tried to push it towards him with the spear.

He held his breath as the spear caught one of the straps and the bad started sliding.

Once it was close enough, he grabbed it as softly as he could and with the same care as before, he walked back to Cas, who was hugging himself.

Dean took a deep breath and with all his willpower he took his own top off. The cold air against his skin burned, as if a deep pain was settling inside his body.

“Put this on” he said taking the damped piece of clothing from Cas’s hand and giving him his own. Cas looked at him in the eyes for a second before he took it.

Dean opened the backpack, and just like Cas had said, there was a blanket inside. He wrapped it around himself, and put the backpack on his back.

“Thank you” Cas whispered.

“How’s your watch?” Dean asked instead of answering.

Dean knew that, even he didn’t actively think about it, all his choices were influenced by the fact that they were on a TV show, and people would hate him if he left Cas to die. He didn’t want to be thanked, not when he wasn’t sure what his actual motivation had been.

Cas lifted his wrist.

_ 30% _

Dean nodded.

Cas’s pants were still wet, and they had no fire or food or shelter. The numbers were going to get lower pretty quickly.

As if he had read Dean’s mind, Cas said “We need shelter, for the wind”.

Dean nodded “You have your bow?” 

Cas grabbed it from the snow and put it on his shoulder. Dean grabbed the quiver.

He shivered when a cold breeze hit his skin where the blanket couldn’t protect him.

“Dean, you didn’t hav—” Cas started.

“You saved my life” Dean interrupted him “Back there with the fire, I would have died”

Cas remained silent, so Dean continued.

“We’re even now”


	11. Gabe

Cas walked very slowly.

Dean didn’t say anything about it. His stomach was furiously roaring inside of his cold body.

He tried to glance at Cas’s watch, but he was hugging himself from the cold and his wrists were hidden. Still, Dean could imagine that the number was getting to twenty-five percent pretty quickly.

Dean looked at his own watch. He was at forty-five percent, but he wasn’t all that worried about that. Benny worried him.

Why hadn’t Benny spoken to him yet?

They were already in the second phase, and they were struggling. They needed help.

So where was his best friend?

Maybe it was still too soon.

“Dean”

Cas’s voice was soft, not very audible over the sound of the wind. He turned to look at the boy, he was very pale, his eyes seemed to be sank into his face. There was no red on his lips or his cheeks, and Dean’s clothes lookes oversized on him, making him look even smaller than he was.

“There’s more wind than before.” Cas said “I don’t like it”

Dean looked around “Yeah, maybe”

“We need shelter” Cas said.

Dean knew it, but there seemed to be nothing but snow in there. No trees, or rocks, or anything else.

They kept walking.

  


 

The blizzard hit shortly after that.

They were barely moving, the cold had slowed them down a lot. Snow fell with the wind, Dean felt like millions of freezing sharp knives were cutting his skin.

Then Cas fell to the white ground.

“Cas!” Dean rushed towards him. He kneeled next to him, and tried to gently shake him “Cas, come on dude!”

His blue eyes were closed, Dean was manhandling him like a doll.

Dean grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch.

He was at eighteen percent.

 _Come on, Cas_ , he thought as he held his body like a death weight on his hands.

Without Cas he would be completely alone. On his own.

Apparently people didn’t like him as much as he thought, or a present would have arrived from him, with food or clothes or anything.

But no. He was on his own.

He needed Cas’s help.

And if Cas was going to live he had to get him out of the wind.

 

 

> Castiel was fourteen when he saw his older brother walk through the door, completely damped with the pouring rain.
> 
> He was sat on the floor near the fire when he heard the door open, and he had turned with excitement to have his family back home, so he wouldn't be alone.
> 
> But Michael entered the room, and closed the door behind him.
> 
> And Castiel lost his smile.
> 
> “Where’s Gabe?” he had asked.
> 
> Michael didn’t even looked at him.
> 
> “Michael, where’s Gabriel?” he asked again.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> When he was fifteen Michael took his test. Castiel didn’t go with him to listen to the results, if Michael had passed he couldn’t risk his reputation by being seen with his bruised brother.
> 
> He could remember, shortly after that, sitting by a fountain alone, surrounded by the luxury buildings of the center of the city, with his torn dirty clothes that made all that fancy people there look away. He was looking at one of the big screens outside the buildings, where the Trials could be seen.
> 
> His brother was being interviewed.
> 
> He had smiled for the people, the cameras, for Crowley. But he hadn’t mentioned Castiel’s name once.
> 
> He said all his family was dead.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> Castiel was looking at that same screen when he saw a large knife going through Michael’s chest, a week later.
> 
>  

Dean was about to cry by the time he got Cas inside the shelter he had made.

His arms hurt like never before, the cold was penetrating him to his bones, shooting pain across his entire body.

There was nothing he could use to protect them, no trees, no caves, nothing, so by the time Cas’s percentage got to fifteen, he got desperate. He had screamed in anger as he buried his hands in the snow and started digging.

Cas was at twelve percent when he finished the hole, and he could barely move. Still, he had to carry Cas’s unconscious body to the cave he had carved in the snow.

He was heavily panting when they were both inside, the wind wasn’t hitting them anymore, but the cold was still there.

“Cas”  he whispered.

Cas mumbled something.

“What?” Dean asked, getting closer to Cas’s face.

“Wh-where” he whispered shakingly “is Ga…” his voice died at the end.

_Fuck._

Cas was probably delirious.

And he wouldn’t get any better if Dean couldn’t get his percentage to go higher.

He took his glove off and touched Cas’s leg, the pants were still completely soaked, his fingers hurt from the icy temperature. He put back his glove and started to very carefully pull the pants off.

“Okay, okay” he said once he got Cas naked from the waist down.

He tried not to look at Cas as much as he could.

After moving behind Cas, he slided Cas’s top part of the suit, the boy shivered as Dean manhandled him to have him sitting, his white back against Dean’s chest.

Dean took deep breaths as he wrapped the blanket that had covered his body around both of them, and covered Castiel’s chest with the top of the suit he had been wearing.

Cas felt cold and was shivering, but Dean didn’t have any other way to warm him.

He wrapped his arms around the younger boy, hugging him strongly.

 

 

> Michael and Gabriel fought all the time.
> 
> Gabriel was older, but Michael didn’t care.
> 
> Castiel would see them shouting all the time, he had grown up watching them fight. The difference was that, when it was over, Michael would storm out of their barely standing wooden house, and Gabriel would stay with Castiel, playing and calming him when he was little, and teaching him stuff when he was older.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Gabriel would always bring him gifts. They weren’t nice things to they eyes of the world, always used stuff that was dirty and half broken, but they were Castiel’s most precious possessions.
> 
> One day he came back home at night with a little rectangular box.
> 
> “What is it?” Castiel had asked once Gabriel put the thing on his hands.
> 
> “This” he said as he placed something on Castiel’s ears “is a walkman. It’s a very old thing that we can use…” he smiled at Castiel and wiggled his eyebrows playfully “to listen to music”.
> 
> “Music?” he asked.
> 
> Gabe pressed a button on the box.
> 
> And then Castiel heard the most weird sound. It was beautiful.
> 
> “You like it?” Gabriel asked.
> 
> Castiel looked up to his brother laughing.
> 
> He had never heard music before, or at least he couldn’t remember doing it.
> 
> He loved it.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Gabriel had always taken care of him. It had been a challenge, raising him, but his oldest brother had never complained or asked him for a thing.
> 
> Not even in those cold winter nights, when Michael would refuse to share his bed with his brothers, and Gabriel was left to take care of Castiel alone.
> 
> He would wrap Castiel in as many blankets as he could, but the little kid would still shiver and wake up at night calling his brother, saying he was cold.
> 
> And Gabriel would have to hug him all night, to keep him warm.
> 
> Sometimes Castiel asked him to talk to him until he could fall back to sleep, and his brother would do it for him.
> 
>  

Dean saw that Cas’s watch had stopped going down. It wasn’t exactly getting better, but at least it wasn’t worse.

Cas kept mumbling nonsense in his sleep, but Dean didn’t understand most of what he was saying.

At least he had stopped shivering so much.

“Ahk” he heard Cas say.

“What?” He asked, it was hard hearing him from behind him, Dean was still with his chest against Cas’s back, and hugging him.

“C-could you… talk?” Cas whispered “Gabe”

Dean frowned. Cas must have been having some delirious dream.

But, even if he wasn’t that _Gabe_ Cas mumbled to, he could indeed talk.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked softly.

Cas didn’t answer this time.

Dean swallowed.

He started telling Cas about himself, his family back at the ghettos, especially about Sam. He told Cas Sammy was the smartest kid he had ever known, how he took care of him when he was little, how much he loved him.

As he spoke, he felt Cas slowly relaxing on his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr: milenawritesalot.tumblr.com
> 
> Hope to see you there!
> 
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> 
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